BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Appeals

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what legislative vehicles the Government plan to use to implement the proposals to streamline regulatory and competition appeals.

Jennifer Willott: Ministers are considering officials’ advice before deciding on the scope and extent of the proposals to be implemented. Any legislative changes we decide to make will be taken forward when parliamentary time permits.

AstraZeneca: Pfizer

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions either orally or in writing he or his Ministers or officials in his Department have had with (a) Pfizer and (b) AstraZeneca in the last two months regarding any bid for AstraZeneca.

David Willetts: There are ongoing interactions at senior level between Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and senior executives from both AstraZeneca and Pfizer as part of the Department’s wider interactions with the Life Sciences industry.
	BIS Ministers have spoken with the chief executives and others from both companies in the last couple of weeks about recent market developments including the approaches from Pfizer to AstraZeneca.

Business: Females

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage more women to franchise their businesses.

Matthew Hancock: The Government offer a wide range of support to all types of businesses to start up and grow, including franchises, for example through the Growth Accelerator, the New Enterprise Allowance, mentoring and the Start Up Loan scheme.
	Women-led small and medium-sized businesses contribute around £82 billion to the economy. 42% of the 15,000 mentors trained through the Get Mentoring initiative are women and have contributed to the 27,000 strong mentoring network at:
	www.mentorsme.co.uk
	The latest figures show that over 37% of Start Up Loans have gone to female entrepreneurs.
	We will continue to work closely with the Women’s Business Council and others to help ensure that more women see starting and growing their own business as a real option.

New Businesses: Wales

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the performance of the Start Up Loan scheme in Wales to date; what the take-up has been under this scheme to date; and how much has been lent to which businesses in each constituency in Wales in each of the last three years.

Matthew Hancock: The Start-Up Loans scheme was extended to Wales in October 2013. To date 249 loans have been committed with a value of over £1.52 million.
	The following table sets the number of loans made in each constituency and their value:
	
		
			 Welsh constituencies Number of loans Value of loans (£) 
			 Aberavon 6 38,700 
			 Aberconwy 2 10,500 
			 Arfon 2 24,000 
			 Blaenau Gwent 5 12,000 
			 Brecon and Radnorshire 2 7,500 
			 Bridgend 9 58,000 
			 Caerphilly 7 42,250 
			 Cardiff Central 6 37,500 
			 Cardiff North 5 41,500 
			 Cardiff South and Penarth 12 83,600 
			 Cardiff West 6 55,500 
			 Carmarthen East and Dinefwr 9 49,250 
			 Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire 12 35,000 
			 Ceredigion 7 19,100 
			 Clwyd South 7 54,500 
			 Clwyd West 8 43,500 
			 Cynon Valley 8 35,000 
			 Delyn 1 5,000 
			 Dwyfor Meirionnydd 2 22,000 
			 Gower 13 50,500 
			 Islwyn 5 35,550 
			 Llanelli 7 27,000 
			 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 7 53,000 
			 Monmouth 10 75,284 
			 Montgomeryshire 7 36,500 
			 Neath 4 9,500 
			 Newport East 11 77,470 
			 Newport West 11 78,350 
			 Ogmore 4 23,998 
			 Pontypridd 6 36,000 
			 Preseli Pembrokeshire 6 23,000 
			 Rhondda 6 36,300 
			 Swansea East 8 47,500 
			 Swansea West 8 57,650 
			 Torfaen 6 91,000 
			 Vale of Clwyd 3 12,000 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 5 21,000 
			 Wrexham 2 12,500 
			 Ynys Môn 4 47,500

DEFENCE

Air Force: Recruitment

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many suitably qualified and experienced RAF personnel his Department has required for aircraft maintenance in each location in each of the last three years; and how many such posts were vacant in each location in each such year.

Anna Soubry: The data requested is tabled as follows:
	
		
			 Engineer (Aerosystems) officers and aircraft tradesmen manpower picture 
			  Engineering officers 
			  1 April 2011 1April 2012 1 April 2013 1 April 2014 
			 Location/Fleet Establishment Not filled Establishment Not filled Establishment Not filled Establishment Not filled 
			 Lossiemouth 9 0 9 0 9 0 9 1 
			 Leuchars 3 0 3 0 6 0 6 0 
			 Scampton—The Red Arrows 2 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 
			 Waddington 8 0 8 0 11 1 12 2 
			 Coningsby 9 0 9 0 11 0 13 1 
			 Marham 9 0 9 0 9 0 9 0 
			 Brize Norton 23 1 21 1 24 1 17 1 
			 Benson 15 0 15 0 10 2 8 0 
			 Odiham 7 0 7 0 8 0 9 1 
			 Abbey Wood 76 20 78 8 80 10 94 6 
		
	
	
		
			  Aircraft tradesmen 
			  1 April 2011 1 April 2012 1 April 2013 1 April 2014 
			 Location/Fleet Establishment Not filled Establishment Not filled Establishment Not filled Establishment Not filled 
			 Lossiemouth 482 27 512 43 525 51 252 59 
			 Leuchars 153 7 156 6 291 13 291 18 
			 Scampton 67 2 67 3 79 5 79 5 
			 Waddington 209 4 226 15 335 75 330 34 
			 Coningsby 458 10 405 12 425 22 587 42 
			 Marham 386 7 425 17 425 37 424 27 
			 Brize Norton 1205 108 1160 56 1034 117 662 89 
			 Benson 506 23 506 40 404 48 295 68 
			 Odiham 400 5 400 11 475 59 517 63 
			 Abbey Wood 68 4 50 7 52 5 55 6 
			 Note: The requirement for RAF Engineering (Aerosystems) Officers and aircraft Tradesmen is set out within an establishment for each RAF station. Establishments can be created ahead of time, prior to the commencement of posts being filled against an agreed build-up profile. The table represents a snapshot of the establishment against strength annually as at 1 April. Over the data period the RAF underwent significant transition as new aircraft entered service or fleets increased in numbers while other fleets were drawn down or retired. Concurrently, the regular strength of the RAF reduced in accordance with the 2010 Strategic and Defence Security Review. These changes, combined with the transfer of personnel between locations, personnel undertaking training courses and support to operations overseas, has resulted in some of the transitory manpower gaps indicated on the table. MOD Abbeywood is the Headquarters location of DE and S Aircraft Project Teams. Only RAF posts within the Project Teams are shown.

Al-Sweady Inquiry

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who all the core participants in the Al-Sweady Inquiry were; and what the name and firm was of each of those participants' legal representatives.

Mark Francois: The following Iraqi nationals have been designated as core participants in the Al-Sweady Inquiry as they were either detained, or are related to those who died, during the engagements on 14 May 2004. All are represented by Public Interest Lawyers (PIL):
	1. Hamzah Joudah Faraj ALMALJE
	2. Mahdi Jasim Abdullah AL-BEHADILI
	3. Ibrahim Gattan Hasan AL-ISMAEELI
	4. Kadhim Abbas Lafta AL-BEHADILI
	5. Abbas Abd Ali Abdulridha AL-HAMEEDAWI
	6. Ahmed Jabbar Hammood AL-FURAIJI
	7. Hussein Fadhil Abbas AL-BEHADILI
	8. Atiyah Sayyid Abdulridha AL-BAIDHANI
	9. Hussein Gubari Ali AL-LAMI
	10. Kahz’al Jabratallah Khalad Mulla AL-HELFI
	11. Hatar Moutashar Zeidan Shamekhy AL-LAMI
	12. Khudhur Al-Swaiedi
	13. Jasem Khalloufi Khreibet Al Alyawi AL-JAMINDARI
	14. Ali Ati Raheemah AL-MOZANI
	15. Rashak AL-AMSHANI
	16. Sabrah Maryoosh HUSSEIN
	17. Kamil Mowat Mohammed AL-MOZANI
	18. Saad Radhi Khafeef AL-KEEMY
	19. Yousef Ouda BADAY
	20. Qassim Ghelan Neema Sahn AL-MAJIDI
	21. Bareq Mohammed Hussein AL-KHALIFA
	22. Ahmed Mshatat KAZEM
	23. Karam Yaseen Laheet Sneshee AL-MOZANI
	24. Zahra Resan MUHSIN
	25. Abdelzahra Atti DAWOOD
	26. Mahud Jihaijeh Dawood AL-MOZANI
	27. Ali Jaseeb Ghazi AL-MUHAMMADAWI
	28. Jabra Abdulah MOHSIN
	29. Nasser Ali Husain AL-DOUGHAAN
	The remaining Iraqi witnesses, most of whom are also represented by PIL, are considered by the inquiry to be witnesses rather than core participants.
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is also a core participant in the Inquiry as it is the Government Department that was responsible for the conduct of the British Servicemen who are the subject of allegations.
	Although the Treasury Solicitor’s Department is not a core participant, the Inquiry Chairman has accorded them equivalent status in recognition of the very large number (over 500) of current and former service personnel that they represent in this Inquiry.
	A smaller number of military witnesses were either unrepresented or represented by Kennedy’s and are considered witnesses, not core participants.

Armed Forces: Mesothelioma

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals have been awarded a war disablement pension for mesothelioma since 1994; what estimate he has made of the number of former members of the armed forces who have gone on to develop mesothelioma; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is unable to provide the number of individuals awarded a war disablement pension (WDP) for mesothelioma since 1994 in the time scale requested. However, as at 31 March 2013, 50 individuals were in receipt of a WDP for a recorded condition of mesothelioma.
	The MOD has no estimated data of former personnel with mesothelioma.

Baha Mousa and Al-Sweady Inquiries

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the costs of the (a) Baha Mousa inquiry and (b) Al-Sweady inquiry are classified by his Department as being operational and reclaimable from the Treasury Special Reserve.

Mark Francois: The costs of the Baha Mousa and Al-Sweady inquiries were not deemed by the Department to be true net additional costs associated with activity to support specifically authorised operations and were not reclaimed from the Treasury Special Reserve.

Consultants

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

Anna Soubry: The top 10 companies which provided external assistance to the Ministry of Defence in financial year 2012-13 are shown on the following table.
	
		
			 Top 10 Consultancy Companies 2012-13 
			 Current Vendor Name Description of Work Total 
			 Deloitte LLP External Assistance For Defence Infrastructure Transformation Programme, External Support For DIO Transformation Programme 14,792,622.68 
			 Ernst and Young LLP External Assistance Support For LCS(T) Project, EA Support For Logistic Commodities And Services Inventory Management Optimisation (IMO) Phase 2 Project 3,654,767.98 
			 CGI IT UK Limited IT Managed Services Framework Agreement, Defence UK Radio Frequency Spectrum Sale—Release To Market Interaction, Design And Transact 2,871,634.40 
			 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP Legal Services To The Defence Infrastructure Organisation Restructuring Contract 2,660,887.16 
			 Deloitte MCS Limited External Assistance To The Army 2020 Study, Technical Support To The JPA Technical Refresh Management Team 2,046,527.57 
			 BAE Systems (Operations) Limited Contract for UK Defence and Industry’s ‘Niteworks’ partnership 1,808,657.00 
			 L.E.K. Consulting LLP Provision Of Business Strategy Partner For The Materiel Strategy 1,672,653.33 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP For The Provision Of Implementation Support For DIO Transformation 1,561,160.55 
			 Linklaters LLP Provision of external legal advice and support for the Defence Core Network Services programme, specialist legal support on the revised deal with the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, Commercial deal with BAE Systems for the future of the UK Shipbuilding industry 1,556,730.61 
			 Dentons UKMEA LLP Provision Of Legal Services To The MOD and Its Agencies 1,431,849.34

Marines

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many berths are assigned to Royal Marines on board the (a) Queen Elizabeth Carriers, (b) Type 45 and (c) Type 26.

Philip Dunne: Berths on the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers (QEC), Type 45 Destroyers (T45) and the planned Type 26 Global Combat Ship (T26 GCS) are not assigned for the exclusive use of Royal Marines personnel. However, each of them provides, or will provide additional flexible accommodation, depending on the type of operation on which it is deployed.
	QEC will provide accommodation for nearly 1,000 personnel above that for the ship’s crew. Space available for an embarked military force (EMF) will depend on the size of the air group carried and the scale and type of operation being undertaken. The T45 is capable of accommodating an EMF of up to 60 personnel.
	The T26 GCS programme remains in its Assessment Phase and the design will not be finalised until the main investment decision has been taken. However every effort is being made to maximise the platform's ability to embark an EMF, particularly with its Flexible Mission Bay capable of housing a variety of EMF boats and vehicles.

Puma Helicopters

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the long-term future of the Puma helicopter; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: We expect the Puma to continue in service, providing medium support helicopter lift until around 2025. Initial Operating Capability of the Puma Mk2 fleet is on schedule to be achieved in March 2015, with Full Operating Capability in December 2015.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the use of Bay Class Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: The Royal Fleet Auxiliary, working closely with the Royal Navy, is an integral part of the United Kingdom's maritime capabilities. The Bay Class amphibious landing ships are used as required to support naval operations.
	This use is in accordance with the extant health and safety, merchant navy, and international maritime regulations.

Satellites: West Freugh

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what satellites currently use facilities at West Freugh for data transmission.

Philip Dunne: The satellite reception capability at the West Freugh site is currently used to receive satellite observed environmental data (meteorological, oceanographic and observed weather) from several different satellite sources. I am withholding details of specific satellites as disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Satellites: West Freugh

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Skynet 5 satellites can use facilities at West Freugh for data transmission.

Philip Dunne: Skynet 5 does not currently use the facilities at West Freugh for data transmission.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration his Department gave to procuring the Rangeless Airborne Instrumented Debriefing System with Collision Warning software for installation on the Tornado aircraft.

Philip Dunne: The requirement of the Ministry of Defence was for an Instrument Debriefing System. Records of any consideration given to the procurement of additional capabilities are no longer centrally held and the retrieval of this information would be possible only at disproportionate cost.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by whom the decision was taken not to proceed from the Technology Demonstrator Phase of the EASAMS collision warning system to Full Development and Production; and whether that decision was reflected in the relevant platform risk registers.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 96W.
	Risk Registers are not designed to record the outcome of the scoping of systems which are at pre-concept stage.

Trade Unions

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Mr Dunne), on 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 730W, to the hon. Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth).

Type 45 Destroyers

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when each Type 45 Destroyer will be installed with the ECPINS-W Subs software; and what estimate he has made of the total cost of that installation.

Philip Dunne: The Electronic Chart Precise Integrated Navigation System software is planned to be installed on the Type 45 Destroyers (T45) as the primary element of the Warship Electronic Chart Display and Information System (WECDIS) navigation capability. This will enhance the Type 45's navigation capability, which currently uses a mix of paper charts and an Electronic Charting System, commonly used on commercial shipping. The new WECDIS system will remove the need for paper charts and includes additional warfighting command and control functionality.
	The programme will ensure the system and training arrangements comply with the latest international standards, which were defined after the T45 build contract was awarded.
	The rollout of WECDIS on the six T45s is scheduled to take place from early 2016, subject to the ships’ operational programme, and is expected to cost £5.6 million for all six platforms. This covers the cost of development, acceptance, testing and trials, platform rollout and user training.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the potential utility of the MQ-4C Triton drone; and whether his Department plans to procure any of those aircraft.

Philip Dunne: Among other options, the potential utility of systems representative of the MQ-4C Triton in addressing the UK’s potential wide area maritime surveillance requirement is currently under review as part of the Air ISTAR Optimisation Study (AIOS), which will provide analysis in support of potential decisions in the 2015 strategic defence and security review.

EDUCATION

Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not plan to relocate its staff or offices to Brighton.
	Following the Department’s Estates Review in 2012, it was announced that the Department would rationalise the existing estate from 12 core sites to six, while maximising the efficiency of the retained sites. This has now been accomplished and the six remaining properties are located in Coventry, Darlington, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Children: Databases

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for what reasons the ContactPoint database was discontinued.

Edward Timpson: ContactPoint was discontinued because it was disproportionate.
	The Government believe it is unjustifiable to hold information on every child in England and to make it accessible to hundreds of thousands of people.

Children: Day Care

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many child care places for disadvantaged two year olds have been created since September 2013.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not hold information on how many child care places for disadvantaged two-year-olds have been created since September 2013. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that every eligible child, whose parents want a child care place, is able to take one. We are reforming the early education market so that places are both more affordable and accessible. We are encouraging more schools to provide places for two-year-olds, including as part of an offer of provision between 8 am and 6 pm. The introduction of childminder agencies will also provide a new way for parents to find places that are suited to their needs.

Culture: Education

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of schools in England provide the minimum level of cultural education proposed in Appendix A of Cultural Education: a summary of programmes and opportunities, published in July 2013; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of pupils aged (a) seven, (b) 11, (c) 16 and (d) 18 or 19 years have received the minimum level of cultural education proposed in Appendix A of Cultural Education: a summary of programmes and opportunities, published in July 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not collect data on the number or proportion of schools in England providing the minimum level of cultural education proposed in Appendix A of Cultural Education: a summary of programmes and opportunities. Nor does the Department collect data on what proportion of pupils, of any age, have received the minimum level of cultural education it proposes.
	The levels of cultural education the Appendix proposes are not mandatory, but are included as a point of reference for schools.

History: Education

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of history lessons were taught by non-subject specialists in each of the last five years.

David Laws: Information on the percentage of history lessons taught to pupils in years seven to 13 by non-subject specialists is publicly-available online, and published in the main tables at the following links:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2010-provisional (Table 14)
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2011 (Table 14)
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2012 (Table 14)
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2013 (Table 13)
	Data for 2009 are not available.

Offences Against Children

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of local authorities in England and Wales have plans in place for tackling potential child sexual exploitation.

Edward Timpson: The independent report of the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC)’s Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) in gangs and groups, published on 26 November 2013, found that 98% of Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards (LSCBs) in England considered CSE to be a strategic priority and that 57% of LSCBs had agreed a joint CSE strategy with their partner agencies.1 These figures were taken from evidence gathered by the OCC in early 2013. The OCC are planning to review the position later this year. Current statutory guidance on CSE says that LSCBs should ensure that specific local procedures are in place covering the sexual exploitation of children and young people and that the needs of the children affected are considered when local services are planned and commissioned.2 LSCBs should set up a sub-group, reporting to the Board, to drive progress on CSE. The guidance does not place a requirement on LSCBs to develop a CSE strategy, but this has come to be regarded as best practice. It does, however, say:
	“Sexual exploitation should be covered in local needs assessments and, where it is a significant issue, the LSCB should help ensure it is regarded as a priority.”
	More recently, the Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation Action Plan, published by the Department for Education in November 2011, set out actions to help LSCBs to prioritise CSE, including to:
	“develop an effective local strategy ensuring there is a co-ordinated multi-agency response to child sexual exploitation, based on a robust, thorough risk assessment of the extent and nature of CSE locally.”3
	The Department for Education is not responsible for child protection in Wales.
	1 If only someone had listened—final report of the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups:
	http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_743
	2 Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/278849/Safeguarding_Children_ and_Young_People_from_Sexual_Exploitation.pdf
	3 Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-sexual-exploitation-action-plan

Reading

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to implement the recommendations on support for the reading skills of oral deaf children in the Reading, Dyslexia and Oral Deaf Children report published by City University and the Nuffield Foundation.

Edward Timpson: The report by City University and Nuffield Foundation1 considers ways and strategies to help teachers identify reading problems and dyslexia for deaf children. There are no specific recommendations for Government in the report, it is for schools and professionals working with deaf children to consider the significance of the findings and how it informs their practice in identifying and supporting children with hearing loss.
	Through the Children and Families Act 2014, the Government aim to improve support for children with special educational needs and disability (SEND) including deaf children. It also includes support for teachers and other school staff to gain the knowledge and skills to support pupils with SEN and disabilities.
	The new SEND Code of Practice due to come into force in September, will set out clear guidance for schools on the process for appropriate identification, assessment, monitoring and securing further support for all children and young people with SEN and disabilities including those with sensory impairments.
	In addition, the Department for Education is funding the National Deaf Children's Society to provide information, curriculum support and impartial advice to enable deaf children and young people to achieve expected levels of achievement in learning at all key stages.
	1 http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/reading-and-dyslexia-deaf-children

School Meals

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average cost of a primary school meal was in 2013.

David Laws: The Department for Education does not hold the information requested.

School Meals

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of additional catering staff needed in schools to deliver the extension of free school meals to all pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 in September 2014.

David Laws: This information is not held centrally.
	In his autumn statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced over £1 billion revenue funding for universal free school meals for pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 between 2014 and 2016. This funding, which includes special provision of £22.5 million for small schools in 2014-15, will be used by schools to pay for the cost of producing school lunches for newly eligible pupils, including any additional staff required.

School Meals

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, columns 707-8W, on school meals, how many academies (a) were invited to respond and (b) responded to the survey by the School Food Trust in 2012.

David Laws: The School Food Trust (now the Children’s Food Trust) wrote to more than 1,500 academies in January 2012. Of the 641 academies that replied, 635 said they were committed to following the new food standards, even though they are not required to do so.

Schools: Governing Bodies

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to ensure that governors are disqualified when a school governing body is found guilty of disability discrimination.

Edward Timpson: Regulations set out the circumstances in which a person is disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a governor at a maintained school. These include bankruptcy, conviction for an offence carrying a sentence of imprisonment, disqualification from being a company director or charity trustee, and persons whose employment is prohibited or restricted.
	The Department for Education has issued advice to school governing bodies on their duties under the Equality Act 2010, including in respect of disability.
	It is for governing bodies of state-funded schools to comply with any orders of the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) in relation to claims of disability discrimination.

Schools: Governing Bodies

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what advice his Department provides to local authorities when a school governing body is found guilty of disability discrimination.

Edward Timpson: The advice that the Department for Education provides to local authorities in relation to disability discrimination is contained in its publication ‘Equality Act 2010—Advice for School Leaders, School Staff, Governing Bodies and Local Authorities’, which is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/269341/Equality_Act_2010_-_advice.pdf
	The publication does not advise local authorities in relation to governing bodies that are found to be in breach of the provisions set out in the Equality Act 2010. Consideration of and remedy for disability discrimination is a matter for the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability).

Special Educational Needs

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of sixth form colleges on the effects of reductions in education funding for 18 year olds on students with severe or complex disabilities.

Matthew Hancock: We are protecting the funding that sixth-form colleges receive for 18-year-old students with severe or complex disabilities. The funding reductions that apply generally to 18-year-old students do not apply to those assessed to have special educational needs, learning difficulties or disabilities.

Special Educational Needs

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effects of reductions in education funding for 18-year-olds on students with severe or complex disabilities and who attend specialist schools.

Matthew Hancock: The reductions in education funding for 18-year-old students do not apply to those with severe and complex disabilities who attend special schools. From August 2014 special schools will receive a flat rate £10,000 for all their 16 to 18-year-old student places, together with top-up funding from local authorities for individual students.

Special Educational Needs

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools which cater for students with severe or complex disabilities have indicated to his Department that they plan to reduce provision for such students since December 2013; and what reasons have been given for these plans.

Edward Timpson: This information is not collected centrally.

World War II: Education

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of secondary school students who studied the Second World War as part of their (a) GCSE and (b) A-level studies in each year since May 2010.
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of secondary school students who studied the First World War as part of their (a) GCSE and (b) A-level studies in each year since May 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not hold information on the individual topics which students elect to take in their GCSE and A level examinations. Information on the proportion of pupils attempting GCSE history is published in the 2009/101, 2010/112, 2011/123 and 2012/134 GCSE and equivalent results statistical first release.
	Information on the number of entries in A level history is published in the 2012/135 A level statistical first release.
	1https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-and-equivalent-results-england-academic-year-2009-to-2010-revised (Table 9)
	2https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-academic-year-2010-to-2011 (Table 9)
	3https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-academic-year-2011-to-2012 (Table 9)
	4https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2012-to-2013-revised (Table 9)
	5https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-level-and-other-level-3-results-england-2012-to-2013-revised (Table 14)

NORTHERN IRELAND

Employment Schemes: Learning Disability

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will take steps to ensure the negotiations between her Department and Praxis result in the continuation of the Secret Garden Service provided by that organisation.

Theresa Villiers: The decision to invite Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) to take over management of Hillsborough Castle will provide a secure future for the castle and bring considerable economic benefits to the surrounding area.
	To deliver those benefits, HRP needs control of the site currently used by Praxis in order to construct the infrastructure necessary to enable substantial visitor numbers to be welcomed to Hillsborough.
	The terms of Praxis' use of the Walled Garden site were always clear that they would need to leave if given one month's notice. Praxis confirmed over a year ago that it would leave if given one month's notice.

Praxis

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions she has met with representatives of Praxis Care in the last 12 months; when she last visited a Praxis residential facility; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: There have been several meetings between Praxis and my officials throughout the last year, and I personally met Praxis Care in March 2013, and again in March 2014.
	As the services provided by Praxis fall primarily within the devolved sphere in Northern Ireland I have not visited a Praxis residential site. I am, however, aware from conversations I have had with a range of people of the excellent work the charity does with its service users. My Department and I value greatly the contribution that Praxis has made, and continues to make, to the community in Northern Ireland.

PRIME MINISTER

AstraZeneca: Pfizer

Ann McKechin: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what criteria he used to select those who he has instructed to review any bid for AstraZeneca;
	(2)  what discussions either orally or in writing he or his Ministers or officials have had with (a) Pfizer and (b) AstraZeneca in the last two months regarding any bid for AstraZeneca.

David Cameron: We are committed to ensuring that the life sciences sector in this country continues to flourish and grow, with the UK at the forefront of life sciences R and D, and retaining our role as a leading manufacturing base. While ultimately the potential takeover bid is a matter for the respective boards and shareholders of the two companies, Ministers and officials across Government have engaged with both companies to ensure that the outcome is positive for the long-term future of this sector in the UK.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave at Prime Minister’s Questions today.

TRANSPORT

Oxford-Hereford Railway Line

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide an estimate of the costs of redoubling the section of the North Cotswold line between (a) Charlbury to Wolvercote Junction and (b) Evesham and Norton Junction.

Stephen Hammond: The provision of a cost estimate for further redoubling of the North Cotswold line would normally be sought from Network Rail only when a business case is identified for the extra benefits this enhancement would provide. No business case has yet been identified and so a cost estimate is not being sought. Network Rail is investigating the opportunities for line speed improvements on the route to reduce journey times.

Roads: Yorkshire and the Humber

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the cost of urgent repairs to roads managed by the Highways Agency in (a) Huddersfield constituency, (b) Kirklees and (c) Yorkshire.

Robert Goodwill: The Highways Agency does not separately identify the cost of urgent repairs on its roads by constituency area. This type of expenditure forms part of a wider contracted service, which includes a number of other general maintenance activities.

Taxis

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many meetings he has had with each private hire vehicle operator since 2010.

Stephen Hammond: Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published every quarter and this information can be accessed on the GOV.UK website via the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-transparency-data#meetings

SCOTLAND

Employment Figures

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of recent trends in employment figures in Scotland.

David Mundell: Latest official figures show that employment levels are at a record high with 2.6 million people over 16 now employed in Scotland. Over the last year 68,000 more people entered work, including an increase of 46,000 in the female employment level.
	These figures show that the Government's long-term economic plan is working, and how Scotland benefits as part of the UK.

Consular Support

Jim McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on consular support for Scottish citizens overseas in the event of Scottish independence.

Alistair Carmichael: There have been no discussions with Scottish Ministers on consular support for Scottish citizens in the event of independence.
	As part of the UK, Scots travelling abroad have guaranteed access to consular support by one of the world’s largest, most experienced global networks.

Income Tax

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress the Government have made on implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Carmichael: The UK and Scottish Governments continue to work closely together on the implementation of the Scotland Act 2012 which significantly increases the Scottish Parliament’s financial powers.
	The Government’s second annual report on the Act was laid in Parliament yesterday and provides a full update on implementation of the fiscal powers.

Highlands and Islands: Economic Potential

Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent assessment he has made of the economic potential of the Scottish Highlands and Islands; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Carmichael: The Scottish Highlands and Islands play an important role in the Scottish economy.
	The UK Government recognise this and has demonstrated strong support for rural areas through measures such as the fuel duty rebate scheme, the abolition of the fuel duty escalator, and in the Budget 2014 supporting Scotch whisky by freezing duty on spirits.

English-Scottish Border Regions

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the potential implications of Scottish independence for the regions on either side of the English-Scottish border.

Alistair Carmichael: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Rory Stewart), earlier today.

Employment

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in Scotland that depend on the UK's membership of the EU.

David Mundell: The Single Market gives UK businesses access to the world’s largest trading bloc with 500 million people and 21 million companies generating £11 trillion in economic activity.
	Since 1992, the UK’s bilateral trade with EU member states has more than trebled and trade with Europe accounts for roughly 3.5 million jobs in the UK, around 11% of the workforce.
	In 2012, Scottish exports to the EU are estimated to have amounted to approximately 45% of Scotland’s total international exports (excluding oil and gas). The Government does not collate figures for the number of jobs in Scotland that depend on UK membership of the EU. However, independent analysis published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research in March 2014 suggested that, in 2011, approximately 335,000 jobs in Scotland were associated with Scottish exports to the EU.

Health Services

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on NHS Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: NHS is an almost devolved matter; the Secretary of State and I have had no such discussions.

Homelessness

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the number of homeless (a) single people and (b) families in Scotland.

David Mundell: Homelessness statistics in Scotland are published by the Scottish Government who gather the information from local authorities.
	The last such publication was on 25 March 2014 and is available at:
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/RefTables/HomelessOcttoDec2013

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average time taken to process applications for redundancy payment is through My Civil Service Pension; and what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken.

Francis Maude: MyCSP Ltd, a mutual joint venture, provides scheme administration for the civil service pension arrangements under a contract managed by the Cabinet Office.
	Redundancy schemes under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme are covered by separate commercial arrangements between MyCSP Ltd and each individual employer.
	The average time for completing these individual exercises is not collated centrally.

Conditions of Employment: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of people who are (a) employed on zero-hours contracts and (b) paid at a rate below that defined by the Living Wage Foundation as a living wage in Warrington North constituency.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated April 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking what estimate he has made of the number of people who are (a) employed on zero-hours contracts and (b) paid at a rate below that defined by the Living Wage Foundation as a living wage in Warrington North constituency. (197165).
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles labour market statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS), following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	Employed on zero-hours contracts
	An estimate of the number employed on zero-hours contracts cannot be provided for Warrington North constituency.
	Estimates of the numbers and characteristics of people in employment on zero-hours contracts are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), but not the APS. Questions on zero-hours contracts are not asked to all respondents of the APS, so are therefore not available from this source. From the LFS, estimates cannot be provided at constituency level, for quality reasons, due to small sample sizes.
	As the LFS is a survey of people resident in households, ONS announced on 23 August 2013 that it would additionally undertake a survey of businesses to obtain an employer- based estimate to complement the existing LFS employee-based figure, as in the following link:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/mro/news-release/ons-announces-additional-estimate-of-zero-hourscontracts/zhc0813.html
	Results from the ONS business survey were published on 30 April 2014:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/contracts-with-no-guaranteed-hours/zero-hours-contracts/artzero-hours.html
	This adopted a slightly different definition to the LFS, and reported on the number of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period. This estimate includes, but is not exclusively, “zero-hours contracts” and covers some other contract types that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours.
	However, estimates cannot be provided at constituency level from the business survey, as sufficient information is not available.
	Living wage
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Hourly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. It is not possible to estimate the number of people with earnings below specified thresholds, though it is possible to estimate the corresponding proportion of employee jobs. Figures relate to employee jobs, which are defined as those held by employees and not the self-employed.
	In April 2013, the latest period for which results are available, the Living Wage rates suggested by the Living Wage Foundation were £8.55 for employees who worked in London and £7.45 for employees who did not work in London. At this time, the proportion of jobs in Warrington North constituency with hourly earnings excluding overtime below £7.45 was 19.9%.**
	Guide to quality:
	The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV. For example, for an estimate of 50% with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population average to be within the range 45% to 55%. This is given by 50% +/- ({2*.05}*50).
	Key:
	* CV > 5% and <= 10%
	** CV > 10% and <= 20%

Employment: East Midlands

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the total number of (a) private, (b) public and (c) third sector jobs in (A) Ashfield constituency, (ii) Nottinghamshire and (iii) the East Midlands in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated May 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office for the total number of (a) private, (b) public and (c) third sector jobs in (i) Ashfield constituency, (ii) Nottinghamshire and (iii) the East Midlands in each of the last five years (197305).
	Employment statistics for local areas are calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Estimates of people employed in the third sector are currently not available from the APS. Individuals employed in voluntary organisations, charities and trusts are included in private sector estimates.
	Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey. In the APS the distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents’ views about the organisation for which they work. The public sector estimates provided do not correspond to official Public Sector Employment estimates. Those are derived directly from employers and are based on a National Accounts’ definition and are not available for areas smaller than regions.
	The tables show the number of people who were employed in the public or private sector resident in the requested geographies. These estimates are compiled from APS interviews held during the period January 2013 to December 2013, the latest period available, and the 12 month periods ending in December from 2009 to 2011.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of people aged 16 to 64 years employed in the public and private sectors1, resident in Ashfield constituency 
			 Thousand 
			  Employed 
			 12 months ending December: Public Private 
			 2009 13 34 
			 2010 14 31 
			 2011 9 31 
			 2012 10 30 
			 20132 ****12 ***36 
			 ‘-’ Not available 1 Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey. 2 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV-for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV = 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Business Improvement Districts: Birmingham

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2014, Official Report, column 488W, on Business Improvement Districts: Birmingham, for what reasons no decision has yet been taken on the Business Improvement District for Sparkbrook and Springfield.

Brandon Lewis: We are considering carefully all the evidence and written representations and will issue a decision in due course.

Children: Supported Housing

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of children aged under 16 years living in supported housing.

Kris Hopkins: The Department does not hold information on the number of children in existing supported housing tenancies; however this information is collected for new lettings. The new lettings data is collected in the CORE (Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales), which reports there were 11,370 children (under 16 years) in the households who were let supported housing in England in 2012-13.

Companies: Fraud

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects to announce the allocation of additional support to local authorities in England to support corporate counter-fraud activity.

Brandon Lewis: We are currently working with a range of representatives from across the sector to identify the most effective mechanism for distributing the £16.6 million over 2014-15 to 2015-16 across local government to help local government combat fraud. We intend to make an announcement about our plans for this investment later in the spring.

Disadvantaged

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the 100 most deprived wards as measured by the index of multiple deprivation are.

Stephen Williams: The Index of Multiple Deprivation is not calculated for electoral wards but is available for lower-layer super output areas in England. These are a census geography each containing approximately 1,500 people.
	The 100 most deprived lower-layer super output areas in England, according to the 2010 English Index of Multiple Deprivation, are listed in the table.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government is updating the Index of Multiple Deprivation, with publication anticipated in summer 2015.
	
		
			 Lower-layer super output area name Lower-layer super output area code Rank (where 1 is most deprived) 
			 Tendring 018A E01021988 1 
			 North East Lincolnshire 002C E01013139 2 
			 Blackpool 010A E01012673 3 
			 Liverpool 018C E01006559 4 
			 Blackpool 007C E01012721 5 
			 Liverpool 059C E01006755 6 
			 Burnley 010E E01024908 7 
			 Blackpool 008A E01012678 8 
			 Rochdale 010E E01005484 9 
			 Manchester 009C E01005204 10 
			 Kingston upon Hull 003A E01012875 11 
			 Liverpool 023A E01006560 12 
			 Liverpool 022C E01006777 13 
			 Bradford 039C E01010617 14 
			 North East Lincolnshire 006A E01013138 15 
			 North East Lincolnshire 002B E01013137 16 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 009B E01012114 17 
			 Knowsley 010B E01006442 18 
			 Rochdale 016C E01005466 19 
		
	
	
		
			 Liverpool 018D E01006561 20 
			 Burnley 007C E01024858 21 
			 Thanet 003A E01024676 22 
			 Blackpool 006A E01012681 23 
			 Wirral 011C E01007122 24 
			 Birmingham 071D E01009365 25 
			 Salford 024A E01005655 26 
			 Blackpool 013A E01012671 27 
			 Liverpool 014E E01006778 28 
			 Liverpool 022A E01006704 29 
			 Middlesbrough 003F E01012041 30 
			 Middlesbrough 001C E01012070 31 
			 Burnley 012B E01024906 32 
			 Thanet 001A E01024657 33 
			 Blackpool 007B E01012720 34 
			 Blackpool 008D E01012682 35 
			 Coventry 007E E01009585 36 
			 Blackpool 013B E01012672 37 
			 Sunderland 016F E01008836 38 
			 Liverpool 024C E01006647 39 
			 Knowsley 010E E01006445 40 
			 Blackpool 006B E01012683 41 
			 Liverpool 024B E01006563 42 
			 Liverpool 014D E01006703 43 
			 St. Helens 014E E01006874 44 
			 Liverpool 023C E01006646 45 
			 Birmingham 051C E01009488 46 
			 Bolton 016A E01004821 47 
			 Knowsley 008B E01006467 48 
			 Liverpool 018E E01006562 49 
			 Mansfield 009E E01028276 50 
			 Liverpool 039D E01006679 51 
			 Oldham 014B E01005350 52 
			 Knowsley 008C E01006468 53 
			 Middlesbrough 001B E01012069 54 
			 Liverpool 024A E01006540 55 
			 Knowsley 008D E01006469 56 
			 Liverpool 011E E01006732 57 
			 Blackpool 010E E01012737 58 
			 Rochdale 012E E01005568 59 
			 Burnley 003D E01024877 60 
			 Blackpool 013C E01012674 61 
			 Knowsley 003B E01006417 62 
			 Liverpool 014A E01006699 63 
			 Manchester 009E E01005228 64 
			 Bradford 045C E01010730 65 
			 Liverpool 018B E01006558 66 
			 Manchester 020A E01005067 67 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 006E E01012655 68 
			 North East Lincolnshire 002A E01013136 69 
			 Liverpool 022D E01006779 70 
			 Salford 024B E01005658 71 
			 Liverpool 043D E01006677 72 
			 Rochdale 010C E01005482 73 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 008D E01012170 74 
			 Kingston upon Hull 031F E01012890 75 
			 Sheffield 039A E01008011 76 
			 Kingston upon Hull 003E E01012879 77 
		
	
	
		
			 Kingston upon Hull 029D E01012855 78 
			 Preston 009E E01025286 79 
			 Bradford 052B E01010819 80 
			 Thanet 001E E01024678 81 
			 Bradford 051C E01010739 82 
			 Blackpool 007D E01012724 83 
			 Liverpool 057A E01006740 84 
			 Middlesbrough 006C E01012028 85 
			 Kingston upon Hull 017E E01012897 86 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 008G E01008380 87 
			 Kingston upon Hull 030C E01012891 88 
			 Liverpool 010B E01006599 89 
			 Wirral 010A E01007132 90 
			 Birmingham 047B E01009358 91 
			 Walsall 030C E01010371 92 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 014E E01012266 93 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 008C E01012169 94 
			 Knowsley 001A E01006448 95 
			 Manchester 012E E01005261 96 
			 Nottingham 011B E01013818 97 
			 Liverpool 044D E01006676 98 
			 Southend-on-Sea 014D E01015842 99 
			 Leicester 012D E01013726 100

Environmental Health

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many environmental health officers are currently employed by each local authority.

Brandon Lewis: The Department does not collect detailed information on the staff roles employed by local authorities.

Fire Services: Pensions

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether he has (a) discussed with and (b) received any representations from the Fire Brigades Union regarding the adoption of a firefighters' pension scheme which would allow members to retire on the basis of length of service rather than age;
	(2)  if he will make an assessment of the (a) fairness and (b) viability of reforming the firefighters' pension scheme allow members to retire on the basis of length of service rather than age.

Brandon Lewis: The Government are reforming all public service pension schemes to ensure that they remain fair to workers and sustainable for taxpayers. The transitional protection arrangements for the firefighters’ pension schemes are set out in the Proposed Final Agreement which was published in May 2012. The transitional protections use age to calculate a member’s entitlement to protection. More firefighters are protected from changes than any other large public service workforce.
	There has been recent correspondence with the Fire Brigades Union on the scope and timing of discussions on this issue. Copies of this correspondence can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/firefighters-pension-scheme-reforms

Housing: Complaints

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints have been received by the Housing Ombudsman service in the latest year for which figures are available.

Kris Hopkins: In 2012-13, the Independent Housing Ombudsman received 3,657 inquiries and 6,391 formal complaints. In that year, 543 complaints resulted in a determination decision following a formal intervention.
	I would note that, as of March 2013, the Ombudsman's remit covered 2,123 landlords, representing 2.9 million housing units.
	Source:
	Independent Housing Ombudsman Ltd Annual report and Financial Statements 2012-13

Insects

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the draft National Pollinator Strategy as it relates to planning.

Nicholas Boles: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from other Departments to discuss a range of matters.

Landlords: Prosecutions

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many landlords have been prosecuted in England for (a) illegal evictions and (b) harassment in the latest three years for which figures are available.

Kris Hopkins: The following table lists figures from 2009 to the most recent period for which information is held:
	
		
			 Statute Offence description 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Protection from Eviction Act 1977 S.1(2) Unlawful eviction of occupier 24 22 23 23 
			 Protection from Eviction Act 1977 S.1(3) Unlawful harassment of occupier 15 9 15 9

Non-domestic Rates: Public Houses

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect on the viability of public houses of the method by which business rates are currently calculated.

Brandon Lewis: Decisions on rateable values are made independently of Ministers by the Valuation Office Agency. All rateable values are based on the rental value of the property and for public houses rates are based on actual rents paid by tenants. Ratepayers should contact the Valuation Office Agency if they are concerned about their rateable value and may appeal to the independent Valuation Tribunal if their dispute cannot be resolved.
	As part of our review of business rates administration, the Government will consider options for arriving at a rental based assessment for non-domestic properties including public houses and the discussion paper, published last month, invites views on this issue.

Private Rented Housing

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households are housed by local authorities in the private rented sector on (a) two-year long contracts, (b) three-year long contracts and (c) contracts longer than three years.

Kris Hopkins: This information is not held centrally.

Private Rented Housing

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) improvement notices in accordance with section 11, (b) prohibition orders in accordance with section 20, (c) hazard awareness notices in accordance with section 28 and (d) emergency remedial actions under section 40 or emergency prohibition orders under section 43 of the Housing Act 2004 have been issued by local authorities in England following the discovery of a category 1 hazard during a housing health and safety rating system inspection in the private rented sector in the last year.

Kris Hopkins: This information is not held centrally.

Private Rented Housing

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households in the private rented sector were evicted under section 8 of the Housing Act 2004 in the last year for which figures are available.

Kris Hopkins: The Department does not hold the requested data.

Private Rented Housing

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many tenancy relations officers are currently employed by each local authority.

Kris Hopkins: This information in not centrally held.

Property Development: Floods

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department gives local authorities on considering the potential flooding risks to land in neighbouring local authorities when making planning decisions.

Nicholas Boles: In the new planning guidance, launched on 6 March, we have made it crystal clear that councils need to consider the strict tests set out in national policy and, where these are not met new development should not be allowed. These tests, set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, include ensuring new development does not increase flood risk elsewhere. The tests are designed to protect people and property from flooding and give councils the robust ability to reject unacceptable planning applications.
	We also expect Strategic Flood Risk Assessments, prepared by local councils to inform Local Plans, to consider flood risks to and from surrounding areas in the same flood catchment.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change: International Co-operation

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer of 3 April 2014, Official Report, column 998, 
	(1)  with which other countries his Department is working on the New Climate Economy report;
	(2)  if he will publish the terms of reference for the New Climate Economy report;
	(3)  when his Department expects work to begin on the New Climate Economy report; and when he expects that report to be published.

Gregory Barker: The New Climate Economy study was launched last September and is due to be published in September 2014, ahead of the UN Climate Summit in New York that month.

Electricity: Investment

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his oral contribution of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 908, on energy price freeze, what the evidential basis is for the statement that there is a pipeline of £187 billion of investment in the electricity sector.

Michael Fallon: The latest National Infrastructure Pipeline data published by HM Treasury in December 2013, in support of the National Infrastructure Plan 2013. This shows that total combined investment for electricity generation, transmission and distribution, when aggregated from 2013-14 onwards in real terms, is £187.4 billion:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263460/national_infrastructure_pipeline__2013.xlsx

Electricity: Investment

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his oral contribution of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 908, on energy price freeze, what the evidential basis is for the statement that investment in the electricity sector has been, on average, £8 billion a year in the present Parliament.

Michael Fallon: The data are taken from ONS data on historic investment in the electricity sector, based on their Annual Business Survey, which covers data between 2004 and 2012:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/abs/annual-business-survey/2012-provisional-results/stb-abs-2012.html
	According to the latest data (provisional for 2012 in November 2013) total net capital expenditure in the electricity sector for the years 2010 to 2012 (inclusive) is estimated at £23.1 billion—ie an average of £7.7 billion per year, which can be rounded up to £8 billion per year.

Electricity: Investment

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his oral contribution of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 908, on energy price freeze, how much investment there was in the electricity sector in each year between 1997 and 2013.

Michael Fallon: We are not aware of a single data series covering investment in the electricity sector from 1997 to 2013.
	There are data available from ONS for investment in the electricity sector based on their quarterly business investment estimates, from 1995 up to 2010. This information was included in the latest edition of DECC’s UK Energy In Brief:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-energy-in-brief.
	However, ONS are now revising their methodology for this data series, which they are in the process of finalising.
	A more up-to-date source of ONS data on historic investment in the electricity sector is the Annual Business Survey data
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/abs/annual-business-survey/2012-provisional-results/stb-abs-2012.html
	which cover data between 2004 and 2012.
	As part of the analysis to support the DECC Investment Report, we have also made estimates of investment in the electricity sector since 2010.
	The annual data from these three sources are set out in the table:
	
		
			  Investment (£ billion, 2012 prices) 
			  ONS (1995-2010)1 ONS (2004-12)1 DECC (2010-13) 
			 1995 3.0 n/a n/a 
			 1996 2.3 n/a n/a 
			 1997 2.8 n/a n/a 
			 1998 3.0 n/a n/a 
			 1999 3.7 n/a n/a 
			 2000 3.6 n/a n/a 
			 2001 3.5 n/a n/a 
			 2002 2.8 n/a n/a 
			 2003 2.9 n/a n/a 
			 2004 0.8 3.0 n/a 
			 2005 1.5 4.0 n/a 
			 2006 1.8 4.5 n/a 
			 2007 3.5 5.9 n/a 
			 2008 4.6 5.7 n/a 
			 2009 5.5 6.8 n/a 
			 2010 5.7 5.9 8.8 
			 2011 n/a 7.3 11.3 
			 2012 n/a 10.2 13.9 
			 2013 n/a n/a 14.4 
			 1 Deflated to 2012 using GDP deflator https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp-march-2013

Energy Companies Obligation

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer of 3 April 2014, Official Report, column 990, on energy bills, how many households are forecast to receive assistance under the energy company obligation (a) in each year between 2013 and 2017 and (b) in total.

Gregory Barker: Our analysis published in the Assessment of Impacts document accompanying the ECO consultation suggested that 8900,000 households would be supported to the end of March 1015 and an additional 930,000 households would be supported to the end of March 2017. This leads to a total number of households supported of 1,820,000.
	We will be publishing our projections of the number of households supported under ECO in the forthcoming impact assessment alongside the Government response to ECO.

Energy Companies Obligation

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer of 3 April 2014, Official Report, column 990, on energy bills, what the evidential basis is for the statement that more households will receive assistance under the energy company obligation as a result of proposed changes to that scheme.

Gregory Barker: The Analytical Annex to the recent ECO consultation sets out the number of households expected to be helped over the current ECO period (to March 2015) and the next (between April 2015 and March 2017):
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/286926/The_Future_of_the_Energy_Company_ Obligation_Assessment_of_Impacts.pdf
	By extending the ECO period, more households are expected to be helped compared with there being no changes and ECO ceasing at the end of March 2015.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the future of the feed-in-tariff scheme in Scotland in the event of a Yes vote in the referendum on Scottish independence;
	(2)  whether households in Scotland on the feed-in-tariff scheme will continue on that scheme for the duration of their contract in the event of a Yes vote in the referendum on Scottish independence.

Gregory Barker: The UK and Scottish Governments have both said that there can be no pre-negotiations on what the terms of Scottish independence might be before the referendum takes place on 18 September.

Solar Power

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of levels of public support for solar photovoltaic; and if he will make it his policy that there will be no changes to the level of support available for large-scale solar under the Renewables Obligation scheme until at least April 2015. [R]

Gregory Barker: The latest results from the DECC Public Attitudes Tracking survey, published on 29 April 2014, show strong levels of public support for solar photovoltaic, with current support levels at 85%. In previous surveys solar PV has consistently scored 81% or above. However, these figures relate to support for solar PV in general, rather than any specific form of solar energy generation. In addition, the survey does not include any reference to large-scale or ground-based solar.
	The Government said in the UK Solar PV Strategy Part 2, published on 4 April 2014, that we are considering the implications of current trends of deployment in solar PV on the financial incentives available in Great Britain under the Renewables Obligation and small-scale Feed-in-Tariff. We will issue a public consultation shortly proposing changes to financial support for solar PV. The proposals on which we will be consulting are intended to take effect from the 2015-16 financial year.

Solar Power: Wales

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the total value is of renewable obligation certificates issued to generators for (a) roof- and (b) ground-mounted solar schemes that have been redeemed in (a) Llanelli constituency and (ii) each constituency in Wales.

Gregory Barker: The following table gives the total number, and notional value, of Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) issued to the two RO-accredited stations in Wales between April and December 2013. The number and cost of ROCs issued to ground-mounted stations is a sub-set of the number of ROCs issued; there are currently no building-mounted stations in Wales accredited under the RO.
	
		
			     Value (£ million—rounded to the nearest £100,000) 
			  All Solar PV Ground-mounted1 Building-mounted1 All Solar PV Ground-mounted Building-mounted 
			 ROCs issued2 14,560 6,263 — 0.7 0.3 — 
			 1 Stations accredited from 1 April 2013. 2 Between April and December 2013. 
		
	
	Information is not available below country level. No ROCs were redeemed by accredited solar PV stations in Wales prior to the 2013-14 financial year.
	The value of a ROC is estimated as the buy-out price (£42.02) +10%. The total number of ROCs redeemed in 2013-14, and the final value of a ROC for that obligation period, will not be confirmed until October 2014. ROCs issued for the UK as a whole can be found in table ET 6.3, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-trends-section-6-renewables

Solar Power: Wales

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many acres of land are covered by solar farms in (a) Carmarthenshire, (b) Llanelli constituency, (c) each constituency in Wales and (d) each county in Wales.

Gregory Barker: DECC does not have data on the area of land covered by solar farms. There are currently two solar sites in Wales supported under the renewables obligation (totalling 12.2 MW) and two sites (totalling 5 MW) under the feed-in tariff scheme (FiTs) that are classified as 'Stand-alone' and are over 1 MW in size. Information below country level is not available for sites in the renewables obligation. The sites accredited under FiTs are located in Monmouthshire.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Colombia

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the oral answer of 6 February 2014, Official Report, column 348W, on Colombia, 
	(1)  what discussions he held with (a) business, (b) Government and (c) civil society representatives regarding the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Action Plan on Business and Human Rights during his visit to Colombia in February 2014;
	(2)  which representatives of Colombian trades unions he met during his visit to Colombia in February 2014.

Nicholas Clegg: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 691. In addition to this, all members of the business delegation who accompanied me were briefed on Human Rights issues before the visit.

Colombia

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2014, Official Report, column 692W, on Colombia, which representatives of non-governmental organisations accompanied him on his visit to Colombia in February 2014.

Nicholas Clegg: I was accompanied on my visit by Lord Livingston of Parkhead and a delegation representing British businesses. While this delegation did not include representatives of non-governmental organisations, I met a number of NGOs before the visit and during my time in Colombia.

Colombia

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2014, Official Report, column 692W, on Colombia, which individuals accompanied him in an official capacity during his visit to Colombia in February 2014.

Nicholas Clegg: Information about Ministers’ visits overseas is published on a quarterly basis at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications#gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisations

Sovereignty: Scotland

John Redwood: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister who would lead on negotiations with the Scottish Government in the event of a yes vote in the Scottish referendum.

Alistair Carmichael: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf the Scotland Office.
	Both the UK Government and the Scottish Government have said that there can be no ‘pre-negotiations’ or contingency planning on what the terms of independence might be before the referendum takes place.
	The UK Government believe that Scotland is better off as part of the UK and the UK is better off with Scotland in it. We are confident that people in Scotland will vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in the forthcoming referendum.

Voting Rights: British Nationals Abroad

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Government plan to increase the 15 year out-of-country voting limit for British expatriates.

Greg Clark: The Government will keep the 15 year time limit under consideration, but are not minded to change the law at the present time.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

China

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of China on the persecution of Christians in (a) Zhejiang Province and (b) elsewhere in eastern China.

Hugo Swire: We have concerns about restrictions on freedom of religion and belief in China, and I raise them regularly with my Chinese counterparts. We are aware of particular recent cases, such as the demolition of Sanjiang church in Zhejiang Province and the arrest of Pastor Zhang in Henan Province, and we raise them publicly through our Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy.
	As the hon. Member will recall, on 1 May, in a debate on the Floor of the House on freedom of thought, conscience and religion, I also expressed my concern about violations of the right to freedom of belief in China, in particular the closure of house churches and the treatment of Falun Gong. We also plan to raise our wide range of concerns directly with Chinese officials during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

Climate Change

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to achieve agreement at the UN climate summit in September 2014 on the amount of finance that will be pledged to assist developing countries with their climate actions.

Mark Simmonds: The UK is actively engaged in discussions on preparations for the UN Secretary-General’s climate summit in September 2014. We welcome this opportunity to further build international momentum to tackle climate change, and towards a new global, legally-binding climate agreement in 2015.
	The UK is committed to the goal of jointly mobilising USD 100 billion of climate finance per year by 2020 from a range of public, private and alternative sources, and encourages all countries to work on strategies for scaling up climate finance. The UK is also actively supporting the development of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which we hope will be ready for initial resource mobilisation in 2014. The UK’s International Climate Fund (£3.87 billion of UK public funds provided by the Department for International Development, Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in 2011-16) already supports a range of adaptation, low carbon development and innovative finance projects to assist developing countries with their climate actions.

Egypt

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to his Egyptian counterpart about the mass trial of and death sentences on members of the Muslim brotherhood.

Hugh Robertson: In a meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister on 2 April, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, raised his concern over the death sentences imposed on 529 people. He asked the Egyptian Government to review these issues as a matter of urgency and to ensure that individuals' human and legal rights were properly upheld.
	The Foreign Secretary also made a statement on 28 April expressing deep concerns that a further 683 people had been sentenced to death by the same court and that 37 of the original death sentences handed down on 24 March had been upheld. He expressed concern at the potential negative impact of such sentences on the Egyptian Government's ability to take forward an inclusive political process, and urged that the sentences be reviewed. We will continue to raise this issue in our conversations with the Egyptian Government.

Falkland Islands

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2014, Official Report, column 413W, on Falkland Islands, if he will discuss the correct use of the name Falkland Islands with the Secretary of State for the Home Office; and given the misuse of the name by his Department in its internal guidance if he will now issue cross-Department guidance.

Hugo Swire: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials have been in contact with the Home Office to remind them of the appropriate terminology for the Falkland Islands. All Government Departments and agencies should refer to ‘the Falkland Islands’ in all instances. There is no evidence that incorrect terminology has been used other than in the isolated cases which the hon. Member highlights. Therefore no cross-departmental guidance has been issued.

Iraq

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Iraq on its proposal to legalise the marriage of girls from nine years of age.

Hugh Robertson: We have raised our concerns about the draft Personal Status law with the Iraqi Justice Minister. The law remains in draft, and has not been approved by Iraq’s Parliament. We expect Iraq to uphold its international obligations under UN conventions to protect the rights of women and children.

Nigeria

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the current whereabouts of the children recently kidnapped from Chibok, Nigeria.

Mark Simmonds: Since the abduction of the Nigerian school girls on 14 April we have remained in close contact with the Nigerian authorities about the case. Although the whereabouts of the girls remains unclear, reports in the media and from girls who escaped suggest they are being held in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno State. Media reports also suggest the girls may have been taken into Cameroon and Chad. We continue to try and establish the facts in this case.

Nigeria

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Nigerian counterpart on the recent kidnapping of schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria.

Mark Simmonds: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, spoke to the Nigerian Foreign Minister on 18 April when he condemned the abductions and offered UK assistance in securing the release of the schoolgirls.

Nigeria

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests for assistance the Government have received in connection with the recent kidnappings from Chibok, Nigeria.

Mark Simmonds: Since the abduction of the Nigerian schoolgirls on 14 April, our high commission in Abuja has remained in close contact with the Nigerian authorities. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, offered our assistance when he spoke to the Nigerian Foreign Minister on 18 April. So far we have not received a formal request for assistance from the Nigerian Government.

Nigeria

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to (a) the UN and (b) any UN agency on the abduction of schoolgirls from Chibok in north-eastern Nigeria on 14 April 2014.

Mark Simmonds: Since the abduction of the Nigerian schoolgirls on 14 April, we have focused our efforts on working with the Nigerian Government to locate and secure the release of the girls. We have discussed the issue with officials from counterpart members of the UN Security Council in New York. On 7 May, I spoke with UN Special Representatives (SR), Zainab Bangura (UN SR for Sexual Violence) and Leila Zeroughi (UN SR for Children and Armed Conflict), to discuss what more the UN can do to help.

Nigeria

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with UN Women about the abduction of schoolgirls from Chibok in north-eastern Nigeria on 14 April 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: Since the abduction of the Nigerian school girls on 14 April, we have focused our efforts on working with the Nigerian Government to locate and secure the release of the girls. We have made no representations to UN Women about the case. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, made a statement condemning the schoolgirls abduction on 16 April.

North Korea

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the situation in North Korea.

Hugo Swire: We remain extremely concerned by the ongoing situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) especially regarding the nuclear threat and human rights.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's 2013 annual human rights report listed the DPRK as a country of concern. Compelling reports of widespread and systematic human rights violations, including the curtailment of fundamental freedoms and the continued use of political prison camps, are especially worrying. I met the US Special Envoy for DPRK Human Rights, Robert King, on 6 May to discuss how we can maintain international pressure on this.
	The security situation remains deeply troubling. Recent statements implying that the DPRK is considering a further nuclear test, coupled with the DPRK’s March decision to launch ballistic missiles in clear breach of UN Security Council Resolutions and to conduct live-fire artillery exercises, have only served to heighten tensions in the region. The UK continues to closely monitor the situation with our allies.

Sri Lanka

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights about the implementation of the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka of 27 March 2014; what technical advice and assistance his Department will provide to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the investigation into alleged war crimes and human rights violations in Sri Lanka; and what representations he has made to the Government of Sri Lanka about the UN Human Rights Council resolution.

Hugo Swire: Our officials in Geneva continue to discuss the March 2014 UN Human Rights Council (UN HRC) resolution with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). We will continue to fully support and work with the UN HRC and international partners to ensure proper implementation of this resolution. The OHCHR will lead an independent investigation into alleged violations. We continue to urge the Sri Lankan Government to co-operate with the UN resolution.

Venezuela

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Venezuela.

Hugo Swire: I remain deeply concerned about the situation in Venezuela where protests have been ongoing since early February. I am saddened by the deaths that have occurred and condemn all acts of violence.
	I welcome the meetings that have now been held between the Government and Opposition which are an important step towards genuine dialogue. I support the work of the commission of Foreign Ministers from the Union of South American Nations, whose role is to support and advise on dialogue, as well as the involvement of the Vatican.
	In my statement of 26 March I called for all sides to take steps to avoid confrontation, reduce tensions and create the right conditions for genuine dialogue. I have written to the Venezuelan Government emphasising the importance of respecting peaceful protest and offered the UK's assistance in the reconciliation process.

Venezuela

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on anti-democratic violence in Venezuela.

Hugo Swire: I am deeply concerned about the reports of violence associated with protests in various cities in Venezuela since early February and call on all sides to refrain from violence. I receive regular reports on the situation from our embassy in Caracas.
	The majority of the demonstrations, including large-scale gatherings organised by the Government or by the opposition, have been peaceful, but some disturbances have been marred by violence. The number and frequency of the incidents have decreased over the last few weeks, but there are still violent incidents. To date, at least 41 people have died and more than 650 have been injured since the start of protests. About half the victims are anti-Government protestors and the rest pro-Government supporters, security forces or bystanders. Around 2,500 people have been detained and around 200 people remain in custody, including police officers and students. The authorities are investigating around 100 cases of reported human rights abuses.
	It is important that the Venezuelan Government respect the right to protest peacefully, ensures public security and due process is afforded in investigations. I welcome the meetings held between the Government and opposition which are an important step towards genuine dialogue. We continue to monitor the situation closely and keep travel advice for British nationals under constant review.

Western Sahara

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to press for the inclusion of language in the Resolution extending MINURSO's mandate for Western Sahara that reflects Chapter 9, article 73 of the UN Charter in supporting the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of those territories are paramount.

Hugh Robertson: There is no reference to Chapter XI, Article 73 of the UN Charter in the new MINURSO mandate, adopted on 29 April. However, we consider Morocco to be the de facto administering power of Western Sahara. We therefore consistently encourage Morocco to meet its commitments by ensuring that it acts to protect and further the interests of the people of the territory.

TREASURY

Crown Estate Commissioners

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many Crown Estate houses the Crown Estate plans to sell;
	(2)  what discussions his Department has had with the Crown Estate on selling houses;
	(3)  how many houses the Crown Estate is proposing to sell in Taunton Deane.

Nicky Morgan: The Crown Estate operates commercially at arm’s length from the Treasury. The Crown Estate makes commercial decisions in line with the Crown Estate Act 1961 and does not normally discuss them in detail with the Treasury.

Income Tax

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have declared income on their income tax returns from (a) rent from a residential property, (b) rent from a furnished holiday letting, (c) rent from commercial properties and (d) income under the Rent a Room Scheme in the last tax year.

David Gauke: Due to the structure of the Self Assessment tax return, it is not possible to provide a complete answer to this question.
	Income from residential and commercial property is not separated out in either the full or the short Self Assessment return. In total, 1,984,000 individuals reported UK property income that was not from Furnished Holiday Lettings in the tax year 2011-12. This figure includes both the main and short Self Assessment returns.
	It is not possible to provide a complete accounting of the number of individuals claiming the Rent a Room relief. This is because individuals claiming the relief with gross rental income of less than £4,250 do not have to fill in a Self Assessment return. Individuals who fill in the short return have no way of indicating that they are claiming the relief.
	Of those individuals who filled in the main return, 47,000 indicated that they were claiming the relief. This includes those who ticked the box to indicate that their gross rents were less than £4,250, and those who filled in the amount claimed.
	Individuals with income from Furnished Holiday Lettings must complete the property pages of the main return. In all, 82,000 individuals declared income from Furnished Holiday Lettings in the tax year 2011-12. This covers Furnished Holiday Lettings in both the UK and EEA.
	HMRC is currently running a compliance campaign focusing on individuals who let residential property, giving them the opportunity to bring their tax affairs up to date and to pay the tax that they owe.

Infrastructure

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent staff work in his Department’s Major Infrastructure Tracking Unit.

Danny Alexander: The Major Infrastructure Tracking Unit is part of Infrastructure UK, a team of 70 FTE staff.

Pay

David Ward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of (a) permanent, (b) temporary and (c) contract staff in his Department as paid the living wage or above.

Andrea Leadsom: 100% of permanent and temporary staff at HM Treasury are paid the living wage or above.
	HM Treasury fully complies with EU procurement directives and awards contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer. Nevertheless, we have encouraged contractors to commit to paying a living wage and expect all employers to pay at least the national minimum wage.
	The Government support businesses that choose to pay the living wage however the Government’s main policy on wages is the National Minimum Wage, which has continued to protect the relative wages of the low paid. This is independently set by the Low Pay Commission at a level that maximises their wages without reducing employment prospect. It is for workers and employers to decide the level of wages above the minimum wage based on current circumstances. This includes the Government as a procurer and an employer. Over 95%, around 20 million employees earn above the minimum wage and the majority of public sector workers currently earn above the living wage.

Procurement

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion and value of his Department's contracts have been let (a) under the restricted procedure, (b) by the open procedure, (c) via framework agreements and (d) via a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years.

Andrea Leadsom: Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the tenders issued and contracts they award with a value over £10,000 (excluding VAT):
	www.gov.uk/contractsfinder
	Public Procurement Regulations require that prescribed procurement procedures are used when procurements exceed the EU contract threshold values. This legal framework helps to ensure that public procurement is conducted in a fair and open manner both within the UK and across the EU.
	Less than 2% of all contracts were let under the restricted procedure in each of the last three years.
	In 2010-11 there was one contract let under the restricted procedure. This was for actuarial support to the independent commission on Equitable Life Payments that was set up by this Government to recommend how best to fairly allocate funds provided for the Equitable Life Payments Scheme (ELPS) and had a contract value of £1 million.
	In 2011-12 there were two contracts let under the restricted procedure. They were (i) Corporate Financial Advice framework contract (estimated contract value of £5 million over the two years but no guaranteed spend) and (ii) a contract for actuarial support for (ELPS) in making fair and transparent payments to Equitable Life policyholders who suffered financial losses as a result of Government maladministration which occurred in the regulation of Equitable Life. The contract value was £5.4 million.
	The information requested for the proportion and value of HM Treasury contracts that have been let via framework agreements and where a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

VAT

Hilary Benn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2014, Official Report, column 677W, on VAT, 
	(1)  how many VAT431C claims have been submitted in each of the (a) last eight years and (b) smallest time periods by which data are kept over the last eight years;
	(2)  how many VAT431NB claims have been submitted in each of the (a) last eight years and (b) smallest time periods by which data are kept over the last eight years.

David Gauke: VAT 431NB New House Build Claims and VAT431C Conversion claims forms have only been in use in their current form since September 2009.
	Data on these forms are kept on an annual calendar year basis.
	
		
			 Type of claim 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 New Build/from 2009 VAT431NB 6,818 6,441 6,183 5,303 
			 Conversion/from 2009 VAT431C 1,155 1,107 1,251 999

Welfare Tax Credits

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the business case for the outsourcing of compliance checks on tax credits claims;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the performance of the Tax Credit Error and Fraud Adding Capacity trial involving the private company Transactis in 2013;
	(3)  if HM Revenue and Customs will share the evaluation of the Tax Credit Error and Fraud Adding Capacity trial with recognised trade unions;
	(4)  how much has been spent by HM Revenue and Customs on preparatory work for the outsourcing of Tax Credit Error and Fraud Adding Capacity to date.

Nicky Morgan: From April to July 2013, HMRC carried out a trial to test whether it would be feasible to increase the number of compliance checks on tax credits claims, through the use of private sector resource. HMRC will publish the evaluation of the trial and the customer research report in due course.
	It is not appropriate to place the business case in the public domain given the commercial sensitivities and the risk of prejudice to HMRC’s ability to tackle tax credits error and fraud.
	In terms of the external costs of the trial, I refer the Hon Member to the Thirty-Fourth Report of the Committee of Public Accounts (2013/14) into HMRC Tax Collection: Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13, which may be found at:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmpubacc/666/66602.htm
	All internal HMRC operating costs are published annually in the HMRC Annual Report and Accounts.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Conditions of Employment

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many officials in his Department are employed on zero-hours contracts.

Helen Grant: The Department has no employees with a zero-hours contract.

Culture: Education

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of pupils in each age group participate in the Cultural Passport scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Cultural Passport scheme was launched as ‘Artsbox’ in February of this year. The programme is run independently of DCMS by Trinity College London, and therefore the Department does not hold the information requested. DCMS welcomes this initiative which allows children and young people to share their creative work.

Private Rented Housing

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many complaints the Advertising Standards Authority has received about letting agencies failing to advertise their fees since November 2013.

Edward Vaizey: The Advertising Standards Agency has received 76 complaints since 1 November 2013 about letting agents. This figure includes but is not limited to complaints about fees.

Public Expenditure

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what expenditure his Department incurred on the (a) Broadband Delivery Programme, (b) Mobile Infrastructure Project, (c) Spectrum Clearance and Awards Programme and (d) Urban Broadband Fund (Super-Connected City Initiative) in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15 to date; and what further expenditure on each of those projects it expects to incur in (A) the remainder of 2014-15, (B) 2015-16, (C) 2016-17, (D) 2017-18, (E) 2018-19 and (F) 2019-20.

Edward Vaizey: The expenditure the Department incurred on the (a) Broadband Delivery Programme, (b) Mobile Infrastructure Project, (c) Spectrum Clearance and Awards Programme and (d) Urban Broadband Fund (Super-Connected City Initiative) in the years requested is:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Programme 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 
			 (a) Broadband Delivery Programme 0 0 9.77 68.49 
			 (b) Mobile Infrastructure Project 0 0 0.09 1.63 
			 (c) Spectrum Clearance and Awards Programme 0 49.7 46.1 9.20 
			 (d) Urban Broadband Fund (Super-Connected City Initiative) 0 0 0 16.36 
		
	
	The figures provided relate to capital funding only. The totals for (a) and (d) include budget transfers to broadband projects in the devolved Administrations and (a) includes a budget transfer to DEFRA. The 2013-14 data are unaudited figures from the Department’s financial systems and therefore subject to change. BDUK has not yet spent any capital funding in 2014-15.
	The forecasts for these DCMS programmes are subject to regular re-profiling. These are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-major-projects-portfolio-data-for-dcms-2013
	The next data set will be published in June 2014. These programmes are currently profiled to spend:
	(a) £780 million on the Broadband Delivery Programme by end FY 2017-18;
	(b) £150 million on the Superfast Connected Cities Programme in 2015;
	(c) £131 million on the Spectrum Clearance and Awards Programme by end FY 2014-15; and
	(d) £150 million on the Mobile Infrastructure Programme by end FY 2014-15.

JUSTICE

Approved Premises

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent estimate is of the average cost of housing an individual in (a) a probation hostel and (b) approved premises for 12 months.

Jeremy Wright: On release from custody, offenders who meet the referral criteria may be accommodated in an approved premises (AP). (APs were formerly known as probation and bail hostels.) There are 100 APs in England and Wales, providing supervised accommodation for offenders under probation supervision. They also house a small number of defendants on bail.
	Most APs are managed by probation trusts and funded out of the total grant paid to the trust by the National Offender Management Service. The AP element is not separately identified. Because of this funding arrangement, it is not possible to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

Baha Mousa Inquiry

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of the Baha Mousa Inquiry Lessons Learned Paper.

Mark Francois: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.
	There is no single paper produced by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) which captures the lessons learned as a result of the Baha Mousa Inquiry. However, as stated in my written ministerial statement of 27 March 2014, Official Report , columns 29-30WS, the MOD has taken action to address all of the accepted recommendations.

Convictions

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 in each of the last four years.

Damian Green: Section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 was enacted to deal with the situation where it was clear that one of a number of members of a household was responsible for the death of a child or vulnerable adult in that household but it could not be proved which one.
	This Government are committed to protecting the rights of children and vulnerable adults. Since 2010 those who commit a serious offence are more likely to go to prison and go for longer. The average custodial sentence length for indictable offences is now the highest in more than a decade.
	The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences under section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 as it applies to causing or allowing death, in England and Wales, from 2009 to 2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the table.
	The number of people convicted in a year, does not reflect the number of cases going through the system, as this could be carried on from previous years.
	The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims (Amendment) Act 2012 amended section 5 of the 2004 Act to extend it to causing or allowing serious physical harm to a child or vulnerable adult.
	Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.
	
		
			 Offenders found guilty at all courts for offences under section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, England and Wales, 2009-121,2 
			 Statute Offence 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, s.5 Causing or allowing death of child or vulnerable person 13 4 2 3 
			 1 The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Convictions

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to sections 1, 2 and 6 of the Child Abduction Act 1984 in each of the last four years.

Damian Green: The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences under the Child Abduction Act 1984 in England and Wales from 2009 to 2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the table.
	The Ministry of Justice collects information for criminal courts in England and Wales only. Information under section 6 of the act is the responsibility of the Scottish Government.
	Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.
	
		
			 Offenders found guilty at all courts for offences under the Child Abduction Act 1984, England and Wales, 2009-121, 2 
			 Statute Offence 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Child Abduction Act 1984, s.1 Abduction of a child by parent3 5 9 11 7 
		
	
	
		
			 Child Abduction Act 1984, s.2 Abduction of a child by other persons4 50 72 76 86 
			 1 The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 S.1 also includes the following: Take a child out of the UK without appropriate consent Send a child out of the UK without appropriate consent 4 S.2 also includes the following: Take a child without lawful authority so as to remove him/her from lawful control Attempt to take a child without lawful authority so as to remove him/her from lawful control Detain a child without lawful authority so as to remove him/her from lawful control Take a child without lawful authority so as to keep him/her from lawful control Detain a child without lawful authority so as to keep him/her from lawful control Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

Convictions

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people have been convicted of an offence of murder, kidnapping or infanticide contrary to the common law of England and Wales in each of the last four years;
	(2)  how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to Section 1 of the Infanticide Act 1938 in each of the last four years.

Damian Green: Murder, infanticide and kidnapping are all indictable only offences. A life sentence is mandatory for murder and the maximum penalty for infanticide and kidnapping.
	The number of offenders found guilty at all courts of murder, infanticide and kidnapping in England and Wales from 2009 to 2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the table.
	Court proceedings data for 2013 is planned for publication in May 2014.
	
		
			 Offenders found guilty at all courts for 'murder', 'infanticide' and 'kidnapping', England and Wales, 2009-121,2 
			 Offence 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Murder3 376 346 343 356 
			 Infanticide4 1 2 0 1 
			 Kidnapping5 194 151 132 126 
			 1 The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Includes all murder offences under Common Law and including by virtue of ss9/10 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. 4 Includes offences under the Infanticide Act 1938. 5 Includes offence of kidnapping under Common Law. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Coroners

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many coroner's inquests (a) with and (b) without a jury were held in the last five years for which figures are available.

Simon Hughes: The number of coroner’s inquests held with and without a jury can be found in the statistical tables accompanying the ‘Coroners Statistics 2012’ publication, which is accessible via the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coroners-statistics
	Table 10 provides data from 1995 to 2012. Data for 2013 will be published on 15 May 2014 in the ‘Coroners Statistics 2013’ publication, which will be available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coroners-and-burials-statistics

Driving Offences: Speed Limits

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many motorists were prosecuted for speeding offences in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) Ashfield constituency in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: The number of defendants proceeded against at Magistrates courts for speeding offences in the Nottinghamshire police force area, from 2008 to 2012 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table. Information cannot be broken down by parliamentary constituency.
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for speeding offences1, Nottinghamshire, 2008-122, 3 
			  Number 
			 2008 2,967 
			 2009 3,191 
			 2010 2,905 
			 2011 2,773 
			 2012 3,196 
			 1 Offences under SS.16, 81, 84, 86, 88 and 89 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. 2 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

High Down Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prisoners and (b) young adult prisoners were on suicide watch in HM Prison High Down on (i) 1 September 2013 and (ii) 1 April 2014.

Jeremy Wright: Prisoners who are identified as being at-risk of suicide or self-harm will be placed on an Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) Plan. ACCT is a prisoner focused care planning system which is used by prisons to manage and support at risk prisoners. The ACCT plan will include what level of observations are required for each prisoner which will be decided on a case by case basis.
	At HMP High Down:
	(i) there were 62 prisoners on an open ACCT on the 1 September 2013, of which 6 were young adult prisoners
	(ii) there were 33 prisoners on an open ACCT on the 1 April 2014, of which 2 were young adult prisoners.

Police: Dogs

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if she will introduce legislative proposals to protect police dogs by recognising them as an extension of their handler as a police officer.

Simon Hughes: The Government agree that attacks of any sort on police dogs, horses or any other police animal should be dealt with severely under the criminal law. However, it is not necessary to create a new offence in order to do this.
	An attack on a police dog can be treated as animal cruelty under s4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The maximum penalty is six months imprisonment, or a fine of up to £20,000, or both.

Prisoners: Pay

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the average (a) net and (b) gross earnings were of each prisoner in each month in each of the last four years;
	(2)  what the highest amount earned by any prisoner in jail was in 2013.

Jeremy Wright: This information is not held centrally. To obtain this information would require an examination by each prison establishment of payment transactions made on the central prisoner moneys recording system for each of the relevant periods. This would be a significant exercise and could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Employment

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many prisoners were employed in work in jails on 1 April in each of the last four years;
	(2)  how many prisoners were employed in work in the community on 1 April in each of the last four years.

Jeremy Wright: Work in prisons is a key priority to ensure prisoners are engaged purposefully whilst they are in custody. It also gives them the opportunity to learn skills and a work ethic which can increase their chances of finding employment on release, a key element to reducing reoffending.
	The number of prisoners working in industrial activity in public sector prisons increased from around 8,600 in 2010-11 (the first year for which figures are available) to around 9,700 in 2012-13. This delivered an increase in the total hours worked in industrial activities from 10.6 million hours to 13.1 million hours. Private sector prisons have also been supporting this agenda and have reported that they delivered over 1½ million prisoner working hours in commercial and industrial workshops in 2012-13 which provided work for over 1,200 prisoners.
	In addition there are substantial numbers of prisoners who work to keep prisons running on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.
	Figures for public sector prisons are published in the NOMS Annual Report Management Information Addendum:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225225/mi-addendum.pdf
	Figures for the number of prisoners working in the community are not held centrally and could be obtained only from local records at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Health Services

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have requested chemical castration in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and NHS England do not provide for chemical castration of prisoners.

Probation

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether (a) his Department and (b) the Probation Service has experienced problems in accessing the Risk of Serious Recidivism Predictor Tool to date.

Jeremy Wright: We are carrying out extensive local testing of the key elements of the new Transforming Rehabilitation systems across a number of Probation Trusts. Findings are helping us to refine the associated tools and guidance. We have now completed testing of the new Risk of Serious Recidivism (RSR) tool, which will be used to inform the allocation of cases to new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) or the National Probation Service (NPS). Our testing with operational staff in Trusts indicates that the tool is straightforward to use, in line with our commitment to minimising bureaucracy for frontline staff.
	We have begun the roll out of the current version of the tool to all Trusts.

Probation

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of the 50 initial preferred bidders for probation services remain in the competition.

Jeremy Wright: We have a robust and diverse market. In mid December 2013, the bidders who passed the first stage of the competition to win the regional rehabilitation contracts were announced. That list included a mix of private and voluntary sector partnerships with more than 50 organisations represented. A list of the bidders who have been successful at this stage can be found at:
	https://www.justice.gov.uk/transforming-rehabilitation/competition
	The process to award Community Rehabilitation Company contracts is ongoing and the details of which bidders remain in the competition is commercially sensitive information. The contract winners for each Community Rehabilitation Company will be announced by the end of 2014.

Taxis: Licensing

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many legal proceedings involving the licensing of taxi and private hire vehicles, operators and drivers have been dealt with in the court system in each year since 2000.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database hold information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, not all offences are individually reported within the centrally held data. Offences involving the licensing of taxi and private hire vehicles, operators and drivers under the Private Hire (London) Act 1998 are reported as part of a miscellaneous group of offences, and it is not possible to separately identify proceedings for these specific offences from others offences relating to motor vehicles. This detailed information is not reported to Justice Statistics Analytical Services due to their size and complexity.
	Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Older People

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department gives full consideration to the increasing impact and challenges that ageing populations will place on national Governments, civil society and relevant stakeholders (a) between 2015 and 2030 and (b) after 2030.

Justine Greening: The UK Government welcome the fact that life expectancy is increasing in developing countries and wants to see this positive trend continue. However, DFID also recognises that this brings new challenges, which the post-2015 framework should address. The High Level Panel, co-chaired by the Prime Minister, acknowledged this in its report to the UN Secretary General through its call to ‘leave no one behind.’

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress the Global Fund has made in reducing instances of AIDS, malaria and TB in the last two years.

Lynne Featherstone: The Global Fund to fights AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria (GFATM) is critical to the delivery of DFID’s ambition on HIV, TB and malaria and is a very significant channel for our funding. Results from GFATM supported programmes have increased significantly:
	(1) 6.1 million people are currently receiving antiretroviral (ARV) therapy to treat HIV, an increase from two million five years ago (2008); an additional 900,000 people received ARV therapy in 2012 and 1.9 million people in 2013;
	(2) 11 million new TB cases have been detected and treated, an increase from 4.1 million five years ago (2008) ; about 1.1 million TB cases were detected and treated in 2012 and 1.5 million cases in 2013;
	(3) 360 million insecticide treated nets have been distributed to protect families from malaria, an increase from 70 million five years ago (2008); 80 million insecticide treated nets were distributed in 2012; an additional 50 million in 2013.
	Since 2002 the Fund has supported over 1,000 programmes in 151 countries, and approved grants totalling $12.4 billion for HIV, $3.6 billion for TB, and $6.5 billion for malaria. It accounts for 21% of all international funding for HIV/AIDS, 82% of international TB funding, and 50% of global malaria spend.

Green Climate Fund

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what international progress has been made towards establishing the Green Climate Fund ahead of the UN's climate summit in Lima; and when she expects this fund to be ready for capitalisation.

Lynne Featherstone: The Green Climate Fund Board has agreed a list of eight operational policies needed to complete the design of the fund, with a view to taking decisions at the next Board meeting in May. The Board will also decide the next steps towards a contributions process, with a view to enabling pledges by the meeting in Lima.

International Assistance

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure that there is a renewed focus on the millennium development goals which have not yet been attained.

Justine Greening: Despite remarkable progress, some countries are off-track to meet MDG targets. In response, the Government have increased development assistance to fragile states, driven forward work to help unlock the potential of girls and women and focused more resources on creating the jobs, investment and growth that emerging and frontier markets need to escape poverty.

International Assistance

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure that the millennium development goals and sustainable development goals are coherent with and integrated into the development agendas of all Government Departments.

Justine Greening: Ensuring that the millennium development goals and sustainable development goals are coherent with and are integrated into the development agendas of all UK Government Departments is a priority for this Government. DFID Ministers and officials work closely with other Government Departments and through the National Security Council, Cabinet and Cabinet sub-Committees to ensure development coherence across HMG.

Syria

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of UK aid to Syria has been written off as nugatory expenditure.

Justine Greening: No UK aid to Syria has been written off as nugatory expenditure.

Syria

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of teaching provision available to Syrian refugee children in Lebanon and Jordan; and what assessment she has made of the effects of language barriers on the effectiveness of such provision.

Justine Greening: According to the UN, there are over 320,000 school-age Syrian refugee children in Lebanon and over 200,000 in Jordan. We continue to be concerned about barriers to education for refugees from Syria, which is why I have set up the £50 million ‘No Lost Generation initiative’ which is providing desperately needed help, including trauma counselling and education.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will discuss with the devolved legislatures how to ensure best practice is adopted in implementing single farm payments across the UK.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs negotiated successfully in the European Council of Agriculture Ministers to secure powers to implement CAP reform in the UK at a territorial level. The responsibility for delivery of direct payments under CAP reform therefore rests with each territorial administration. However, DEFRA Ministers regularly discuss the implementation of CAP reform with their devolved Administration counterparts and officials from all four territorial Administrations meet frequently to discuss implementation, share best practice and address UK-level and cross-border issues.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to publish in full all monitoring data collected on the second year of the pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset.

George Eustice: The outcome of the monitoring of the second year of the pilot culls will be published after culling has concluded and the analysis is completed.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he plans to take to ensure that he receives independent scientific advice on the safety, effectiveness and humaneness of the second year of the badger cull pilots in Gloucestershire and Somerset.

George Eustice: Natural England, as the independent licensing authority, is the most appropriate organisation to continue carrying out the field monitoring of cage trapping and shooting to ensure that licence conditions and best practice guidance requirements are complied with. The outcome of this monitoring, together with the outcome of post-mortem examinations carried out by trained vets will be made publically available after the culls are completed, and will inform the decisions made about next steps.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what arrangements he plans to put in place to ensure that monitoring data collected on the second year of the pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset are made available for independent scientific evaluation and analysis; and if he will make it his policy to receive and consider the conclusions of that analysis prior to deciding whether the culls should be extended to other areas subsequently.

George Eustice: The outcome of the monitoring of the second year of culling will be made publically available when the culls have concluded and the analyses completed. This information will be taken into account in making decisions on rolling out culling in further areas.

Churngold Recycling

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Environment Agency expects to conclude its investigation into Churngold Recycling Ltd.

Dan Rogerson: This is a complex investigation that the Environment Agency is working hard to complete. Legal challenges to the investigation in the civil courts have caused delays. Once the investigation is complete and the matter has been legally reviewed, the Environment Agency will decide on any appropriate enforcement.

Dangerous Dogs

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will review the effectiveness of current legislation on banned breeds of dog.

George Eustice: The Government have introduced new legislation to tackle irresponsible dog ownership, including extending the criminal offence of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control to all places, increasing the maximum penalties for allowing a dog to become dangerously out of control and ensuring that the new measures to deal with antisocial behaviour will include such instances when they involve a dog. As announced on 6 February 2013, DEFRA is looking at making changes to the arrangements for seizure and kennelling of suspected dangerous dogs but there are no plans to review the effectiveness of the restrictions on keeping certain types of dog which are specifically bred for fighting.

Floods

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the Government Departments and public authorities to which borough councils for areas where there is no unitary authority can apply for funding towards (a) their own costs in dealing with flooding and (b) the cost of flood protection schemes in their area, stating in each case the name of the funding scheme and the government department or public authority to which the application should be made.

Dan Rogerson: The information is as follows:
	(a) There are a number of schemes where borough councils can apply for funding towards their own costs in dealing with flooding and these are listed as follows:
	The Bellwin scheme of emergency financial assistance (funding to help local authorities in the emergency phase of the flooding to protect lives or property)—through the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	Funding for repair of damages to roads (hit by weather damage)—through the Department for Transport
	The business support scheme (hardship funding for SME businesses in areas affected by the floods)—through the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	(b) Borough councils can also apply for funding towards the cost of flood protection schemes from Flood Defence Grant in Aid through the Environment Agency. Second tier local authorities including borough councils can apply for capital grants towards flood and coastal erosion risk management projects. Where there are two tiers of local government, local authorities should work together to decide which authority is best placed to lead in different circumstances.

Fly-grazing

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of current legislation against fly-grazing;
	(2)  if he will assess the potential benefits of more stringent equine passport controls; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reverse the burden of proof and increase data-gathering on horse ownership in relation to fly-grazing;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of changes in levels of fly-grazing in England following changes to relevant legislation in Wales;
	(4)  pursuant to the contribution of 26 November 2013 of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Official Report, columns 56-9WH, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of fly-grazing in Wales.

George Eustice: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Science has met a number of interested bodies to discuss what action can be taken to address fly-grazing in England. There is a range of legislation that can be used depending on the individual circumstances of each case. Most of the problems associated with fly-grazing are linked to difficulties in tracing owners of unidentified horses. In such cases we would encourage a joined-up approach by enforcers and interested parties at a local level to help tackle the problem. It is already an offence under the Horse Passport Regulations for horses not to be identified. These regulations are enforced by local authorities. Fly-grazing in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Government.

Gulls

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to reduce the number of black-backed gulls.

George Eustice: DEFRA is not taking action to reduce the number of lesser or great black-backed gulls. Like all wild birds, gulls are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Under this Act it is an offence to kill or injure any wild bird; to take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built; and take or destroy an egg of any wild bird.
	However, Natural England has issued general licences for gulls which allow users to kill or take lesser black-backed gulls, to take, damage or destroy their nests or take or destroy their eggs, for a range of purposes. These include protection against damage to livestock or crops, or where the gulls are posing a risk to public health and safety. General licences need not be applied for by users, as long as they meet the conditions of the licence.

Hill Farming

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any restrictions exist in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland on upland farms contaminated by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident in April 1986.

Jane Ellison: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Health.
	There are no longer any restrictions in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland on upland farms contaminated by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) previously restricted the movement of sheep in certain upland areas to prevent sheep with higher levels of contamination entering the food chain. Over time, controls were removed where the evidence showed they were no longer necessary. All remaining controls were lifted in Northern Ireland in 2000, in Scotland in 2010 and in Wales in 2012. Similarly, the final controls in England were lifted in 2012.
	Information on the historic controls and the decision to remove restrictions can be found on the FSA website:
	www.food.gov.uk/science/research/radiologicalresearch/radiosurv/chernobyl/

Medical Equipment: Waste Disposal

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who is responsible for the collection and disposal of clinical waste from patients' homes.

Dan Rogerson: Local authorities have duties to arrange for the collection and disposal of household waste. Clinical waste produced at domestic property is treated as household waste.

Rural Areas: Broadband

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 37W, on rural areas: broadband, what the latest figures are for how much funding is for projects (a) granted, (b) under pre-contract approval and (c) still under consideration for funding.

Dan Rogerson: The current breakdown of funding to date that has arisen from the Rural Community Broadband Fund is as follows:
	(a) Projects granted (contracted and in delivery) total—£0.459 million;
	(b) Projects with pre-contract approval total—£0.634 million; and
	(c) Projects under consideration total—£14.0 million.
	Until contracted, all costs are estimated and subject to revision.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list, by individual site of special scientific interest (SSSI), all the cases of permanent loss of land within SSSIs to development since the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 came in to force in England; and for each SSSI what the (a) area of permanent loss was, (b) cause of that loss was and (c) year that loss was permitted.

George Eustice: This information is not readily available in the form requested. However, the latest summary of SSSI condition, published in April 2014, shows that 139 hectares of SSSI in England were recorded as fully or partially lost due to planning-related activity between 2007 and 2013. This is 0.01% of the current total area of English SSSIs, reflecting the very strong presumption against developing SSSIs in both primary legislation, the National Planning Policy Framework and previous guidance.
	The table sets out the area of each SSSI that has been destroyed or partially destroyed and when the loss was recorded.
	
		
			 Sum of unit area (hectares) 
			  Monitoring date 
			 SSSI name 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 
			 Barrow Gravel Pits - - 1.69 - - - - 1.69 
			 Canford Heath - - - 3.6 - - - 3.6 
			 Cavenham-Icklingham Heaths - - 10.87 - - - - 10.87 
			 Cowthick Quarry 1.39 - - - - - - 1.39 
			 Doxey and Tillington Marshes - - 1.45 - - - - 1.45 
			 Duddon Estuary - - - 3.62 - - - 3.62 
			 Fenn's, Whixall, Bettisfield, Wem and Cadney Mosses - - - 2.05 - - - 2.05 
			 Gwithian to Mexico Towans - - - 0.3 - - - 0.3 
			 Headon Warren and West High Down - 3.16 - - - - - 3.16 
			 Holt and West Moors Heaths - - 1.26 - - - - 1.26 
			 King's Quay Shore - - - 0.19 - - - 0.19 
			 Little Paxton Pits - - - 7.15 - - - 7.15 
			 Medway Estuary and Marshes - - 22.56 - - - - 22.56 
			 Moorgreen Meadows - - - - - - 2.95 2.95 
			 Nostell Brickyard Quarry - - - 11.42 - - - 11.42 
			 Parley Common - - - 0.69 - - - 0.69 
			 Pevensey Levels - - 17.84 - - - - 17.84 
			 Portsdown - - - 1.79 - - - 1.79 
			 Povington and Grange Heaths - - - 2.43 - - - 2.43 
			 Red Moss - - - - - 4.29 - 4.29 
			 Seal Sands - - - 12.61 - - - 12.61 
			 Slop Bog and Uddens Heath - - - - - 5.06 - 5.06 
			 Southfield Farm Marsh - - - - - - 1.09 1.09 
			 St Catherine's Hill - - - - 1.95 - - 1.95 
			 Verwood Heaths - - - 0.07 - - - 0.07 
			 Westhay Moor - - - - - - 17.82 17.82 
			 Total 1.39 3.16 55.67 45.92 1.95 9.35 21.86 139.3

HOME DEPARTMENT

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the results were of the Metropolitan Police investigation into the death of an unnamed woman in Slough on 21 January 2012 following an abortion performed by Marie Stopes International.

Damian Green: The Government do not comment on the investigation of individual cases as these are the operational responsibility of the respective police force involved.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will make it her policy to ensure that pregnant women and nursing mothers in receipt of section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are recognised as a vulnerable group when contracting and allocating placement accommodation;
	(2)  if she will place in the Library a copy of all guidance and benchmarking criteria used by her Department, its contractors and agents when assessing the adequacy and suitability of placement accommodation allocated to pregnant women and nursing mothers in receipt of section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

James Brokenshire: The guidance and procedures on providing accommodation to pregnant women in the asylum support system is contained in the policy document “Healthcare needs and Pregnancy Dispersal guidance”, which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthcare-needs-and-pregnancy-dispersal-instruction
	The Home Office is currently considering some changes to the document following consultation with the Refugee Council and Maternity Action.
	Pregnant women are already recognised as a vulnerable group in the asylum support system. Regulation 4 of the Asylum Seekers (Reception conditions) Regulations 2005 provides that their special needs must be taken into consideration.

Asylum: North East

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to ensure the viability of the financial position of the North East Refugee Service; and for what reasons her Department has not yet paid exit costs to that organisation.

James Brokenshire: Negotiations on the exit claim are under way between the Home Office and the Refugee Council and we hope to conclude these as soon as possible. The North of England Refugee Service was a subcontractor of the Refugee Council, and the Home Office is therefore unable to negotiate directly with the North of England Refugee Service.

Asylum: Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many pregnant women in Scotland were granted section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 for reasons including that they were deemed unfit to travel in each of the last five years;
	(2)  at what gestation stage each pregnant women in Scotland granted section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 received the decision to grant that support;
	(3)  how many pregnant women in Scotland are in receipt of section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; how many such women were moved to different accommodation during pregnancy; how many weeks pregnant each such woman was when she was moved; what the reason for each such move was; and if a risk assessment of each such move was undertaken which included input from a treating clinician;
	(4)  what the length of time was between the date of application by each pregnant woman in Scotland for section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and the date of receipt by the applicant of that support;
	(5)  how many pregnant woman in Scotland were denied section 4 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 for reasons that included an assessment that they were fit to travel; and what the gestation stage of each such woman was when that decision was made in each of the five years to 2013-14.

James Brokenshire: The information requested is not routinely collected and could be provided only by examining individual case records, which would result in disproportionate cost.

Crime: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will set targets for the reduction of rural crime.

Norman Baker: The coalition Government has abolished all central policing targets and mandatory indicators to enable the police to discourage perverse incentives and to allow them to focus on their clear objective, to cut crime. This applies equally to crime in rural areas as it does to crime in our towns and cities and we have no plans to create new central targets for reducing crime in rural areas. It is now the responsibility of directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure the police deal with the issues that really matter to the communities they serve, and the public will hold them to account for this.

Crime: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on the levels of rural crime; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: Between January and April 2014, the Home Office received five written Parliamentary questions on issues relating to crime in rural areas, not including this question. We also received one letter from a member of the public and a letter from the Member for Thirsk and Malton.

Domestic Violence

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle domestic abuse.

Norman Baker: The coalition Government’s approach to tackling domestic violence and abuse is set out in its Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan, updated in March 2014. It is a subject we take very seriously.
	In 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with domestic violence and abuse. HMIC’s report exposed significant failings. The Home Secretary is establishing a new national oversight group, which she will chair, and on which I will sit, to ensure HMIC’s recommendations are acted upon. The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it clear that every police force must have an action plan in place by September 2014, to improve their response to domestic violence and abuse.
	The Government is committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. The Government accordingly announced the national roll-out of Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme from 8 March 2014.

Entry Clearances: Domestic Service

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) meetings she or Ministers in her Department have had with and (b) representations she has received from Kalayaan on tied domestic workers visas.

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Cabinet Office website which is available here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-ministers-gifts-and-hospitality-july-to-september-2013
	Kalayaan has sent a number of representations to the Home Office on the subject of overseas domestic workers.

Hillsborough Stadium

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces failed to meet her Department's deadline of 4 April 2014 for handing over to the Independent Police Complaints Commission any evidence relating to the Hillsborough disaster.

Theresa May: I wrote to all chief constables in England and Wales on 4 March 2014 to request that all police forces search their records to establish whether they possess any material that relates to the Hillsborough tragedy. The purpose of the letter was to assist the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and Operation Resolve in recovering any material which had not already been provided. I understand that all forces have now responded to the IPCC and I am aware that the IPCC is currently assessing these responses. I am expecting a full report from them in due course.

Human Trafficking

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that assets of human traffickers are frozen within 48 hours of their arrest; and if he will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The Serious and Organised Crime Strategy, published in October 2013, sets out how the Government will make it harder for criminals to use, hide and move the proceeds of crime. The Government will, as soon as parliamentary time allows, seek to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to enable assets to be frozen more quickly and easily.
	Section 60B of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 allows for relevant land vehicle, ship or aircraft to be detained where a person has been arrested for a human trafficking offence. These powers will be brought forward and consolidated into the Modern Slavery Bill.

Illegal Immigrants

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-UK citizens attempting to enter the UK illegally or clandestinely were apprehended by UK border control agencies at the ports of (a) Dover and (b) Calais in each year between 1999 and 2014.

James Brokenshire: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty's Government cannot comment on port specific statistics.
	Under Information Commissioner Guidelines statistics for UK port activity may only be released at a regional level.

Illegal Immigrants: France

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants are estimated to have entered the UK from Calais in each year since 1999.

James Brokenshire: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty's Government cannot comment on port specific statistics.

Immigration

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) amount her Department spent and (b) fee income it has received in connection with (i) the asylum system, (ii) immigration control at home and abroad and (iii) enforcement in each of the last 10 years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not have this information broken down on the financial system in line with the question. The published accounts for the former UK Border Agency break down relevant income and expenditure information since 2009 and also in the Home Office report and accounts for 2012-13. These can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications? official_document_status=command_and_act_papers

Immigration Controls

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many absconders there were at each UK airport in each year since 2010; and how many and what proportion of such absconders were subsequently recovered.

James Brokenshire: It is Home Office policy not to release operationally sensitive information at port specific level, so as not to expose potential vulnerabilities in border security.

Members: Correspondence

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will reply to correspondence from the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed of 2 December 2013 and 27 March 2014 on a constituent's complaint relating to previous employment in her Department.

Karen Bradley: A reply was sent by the Home Office Shared Services Directorate on 6 May 2014.

Offenders: Deportation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason each foreign national in prison awaiting deportation who is beyond the end of their sentence is yet to be deported.

James Brokenshire: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Passports

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many travel documents were (a) applied for and (b) issued in each year since 1 January 2009.

James Brokenshire: The information is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  (a) Applied (b) Issued 
			 2009 22,672 14,183 
			 2010 26,652 15,095 
			 2011 23,722 16,791 
			 2012 20,667 8,139 
			 2013 22,567 12,811 
			 Total 116,280 67,019 
		
	
	To provide context to the figures, it should be noted that a policy change was implemented in February 2012 requiring all travel document applicants to have or simultaneously apply for a Biometric Residence Permit to confirm status. This subsequently resulted in a doubling of processing times. However, the backlog of applications was cleared in February this year and the Home Office's Travel Document Section has since returned to agreed service levels.

Passports

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many travel document applications arising from each country were being processed as of 1 April 2014.

James Brokenshire: The following table gives a breakdown, by nationality, of outstanding applications for a Home Office Travel Document.
	To align with protocol on publishing statistics, the list represents the position at 31 December 2013. However, most of the cases shown as outstanding have been concluded since that date.
	
		
			 Nationality Number of cases 
			 Afghanistan 447 
			 Albania 85 
			 Algeria 28 
			 Angola 50 
			 Antigua and Barbuda 1 
			 Armenia 2 
			 Austria 1 
			 Azerbaijan 11 
			 Bahrain 4 
			 Bangladesh 16 
			 Belarus 23 
			 Bhutan 18 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 
			 Botswana 1 
			 Burkina Faso 1 
			 Burundi 44 
			 Cameroon 54 
			 Chad 7 
			 Chile 1 
			 China 75 
			 Colombia 13 
			 Congo 24 
			 Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 34 
			 Croatia 4 
			 Czech Republic 3 
			 Democratic People's Republic of Korea 22 
			 Democratic Republic of the Congo 261 
			 Dominica 1 
			 Ecuador 10 
			 Egypt 32 
			 Eritrea 735 
			 Ethiopia 56 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 42 
			 France 1 
			 Gambia 81 
			 Georgia 7 
			 Ghana 12 
			 Grenada 2 
			 Guinea 28 
			 Guinea-Bissau 1 
			 Haiti 1 
			 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China 1 
			 India 14 
			 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 1,228 
			 Iraq 504 
			 Israel 1 
			 Jamaica 18 
			 Jordan 2 
			 Kenya 23 
			 Kosovo 171 
			 Kosovo Resident-UN Issued Travel Document 1 
			 Kuwait 26 
			 Kuwait Bidoun 2 
			 Kyrgyzstan 3 
		
	
	
		
			 Lebanon 5 
			 Liberia 15 
			 Libya 98 
			 Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of) 3 
			 Malawi 4 
			 Malaysia 3 
			 Maldives 3 
			 Mauritania 3 
			 Mauritius 1 
			 Mongolia 8 
			 Morocco 5 
			 Mozambique 2 
			 Myanmar 84 
			 Nepal 2 
			 Nigeria 60 
			 Officially Stateless 1 
			 Pakistan 421 
			 Palestinian Authority 34 
			 Refugee-Article 1 of the 1951 Convention 173 
			 Refugee-Other 2 
			 Republic of Serbia 20 
			 Romania 3 
			 Russian Federation 41 
			 Rwanda 34 
			 Saudi Arabia 4 
			 Senegal 11 
			 Sierra Leone 22 
			 Slovakia 1 
			 Somalia 1,210 
			 South Africa 3 
			 Sri Lanka 427 
			 Stateless Person (Article 1 of 1954 Convention) 111 
			 St Vincent and the Grenadines 1 
			 Sudan 284 
			 Swaziland 3 
			 Syria Arab Republic 587 
			 Tajikistan 1 
			 Thailand 2 
			 Togo 16 
			 Tonga 1 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 1 
			 Tunisia 4 
			 Turkey 66 
			 Turkish controlled area of Cyprus 4 
			 Turkmenistan 1 
			 Uganda 73 
			 Ukraine 3 
			 United Rep of Tanzania 7 
			 United States of America 2 
			 Uruguay 1 
			 Uzbekistan 10 
			 Venezuela 2 
			 Vietnam 36 
			 Yemen 31 
			 Zambia 3 
			 Zimbabwe 508 
			 Total 8,731

Teachers: Arrests

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is mandatory for a police force to include details of the last school where a teacher was employed when notifying the National College of Teaching and Leadership of any teacher arrested on allegations of abuse.

Karen Bradley: The police service may notify arrests to regulators in certain circumstances under the Notifiable Occupations Scheme, which is based on common law powers to provide information which is necessary to prevent or detect crime. The scheme is not based on statute and there is therefore no mandatory requirement. Guidance to police forces has been issued by the Chief Constables Council.

UK Visas and Immigration Directorate

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total yearly salary of each grade of the UK Visa and Immigration Directorate senior staff was on 1 April 2014.

Karen Bradley: The following table shows the total yearly salary for each senior civil service grade in UK Visa and Immigration Directorate as at 1 April 2014. These are presented in £5,000 bands in line with our commitment to publish departmental salary information.
	
		
			 Grade Salary band 
			 Deputy Directors £755,000 to £759,999 
			 Directors £420,000 to £424,999 
			 Director General £132,000 to £134,999

Verne Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on converting HM Prison The Verne for use as an immigration removal centre to date.

James Brokenshire: £4 million has been spent to date on the conversion of HM Prison The Verne into an Immigration Removal Centre. The work is about 60% complete and in total is expected to cost approximately £8.5 million in line with the approved budget.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Budgeting Loans

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much in budgeting loans was spent in each region of the UK in each of the last six years.

Steve Webb: Table 1 provides the Budgeting Loan expenditure in each region of Great Britain in the financial years from 2008/09 to 2013/14.
	Information regarding annual expenditure for Social Fund schemes in Northern Ireland is a matter for Northern Ireland office and is not included in the figures as follows. Figures are therefore given for Great Britain and not the United Kingdom.
	
		
			 Table 1: Budgeting loan expenditure by region between 2008/09 and 2013/14 
			 £ million 
			 Budgeting loan expenditure per Region 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 
			 East of England 28.4 30.3 27.9 29.1 30.0 27.6 
			 East Midlands 30.4 34.8 33.1 33.2 34.2 30.5 
			 London 64.0 64.9 58.9 57.5 54.0 47.7 
			 North East 31.2 34.3 31.9 32.6 33.8 31.2 
			 North West 69.6 72.4 65.1 65.3 69.0 62.8 
			 Scotland 49.0 51.9 48.5 48.3 49.2 44.5 
			 South East 36.3 38.1 36.6 37.1 37.7 33.7 
			 South West 24.6 27.1 23.9 23.5 23.3 21.3 
			 Wales 28.7 30.8 27.9 27.8 28.3 26.9 
			 West Midlands 49.1 53.1 49.3 48.5 48.7 45.3 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 43.5 44.4 43.0 44.6 47.1 44.7 
			 Total 454.9 482.3 445.9 447.5 455.3 416.3 
			 Notes: 1. The information provided is (internal) management information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have management information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics, nor does it include the same depth of information. For example the MI does not include expenditure on applications which were processed clerically and have not been entered on to the social fund computer system. 2. All figures have been rounded to the nearest £100,000. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Conditions of Employment

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received from the (a) Local Government Association, (b) Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and (c) Welsh Local Government Association on issues of staff protection, finance and timing in relation the proposal to establish a single fraud investigation service.

Esther McVey: DWP has worked very closely with the Local Government Association, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association throughout the life of the Project and continues to do so. All three organisations hold regular meetings with the Project and also have representatives on the key consultative and governance groups, for example the SFIS Project Steering Committee.
	The subject of staff terms and conditions has been discussed and we have assured all our stakeholders that terms and conditions of employment will be protected. This protection will be documented in the transfer order and employees transferring will not be subject to less favourable terms and conditions when they join DWP. This is in line with the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice for Staff Transfers in the Public Sector.

Conditions of Employment

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the level of TUPE contract protection available to fraud staff currently employed by local authorities who will be transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions as part of the single fraud investigation service.

Esther McVey: DWP has considered whether the creation of SFIS falls within the TUPE definitions. The regulations state “…the transfer of administrative functions between public administrative authorities is not a relevant transfer” (for the purpose of TUPE). After careful consideration, DWP has concluded that benefit fraud investigations fall within this category, and as such, TUPE would not apply.
	DWP has however, made clear that the success of SFIS is a priority and we intend to transfer staff currently working on fraud investigations from local authorities. To effect those transfers, DWP will apply the approach set out in the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice for Staff Transfers in the Public Sector (COSOP) and staff will transfer under a Statutory Transfer scheme (STS) as provided for under Section 38 of the Employment Relations Act 1999. In line with COSOP, the terms and conditions for transferring staff will be protected.

Disability

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what average extra costs are incurred by disabled people as a result of their disability.

Michael Penning: We do not hold current information on the extra costs incurred by disabled people as a result of their disability.

Employment: Disability

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of those classified disabled were seeking work in each of the last four years.

Michael Penning: The information requested is within the following table.
	
		
			 Number of working age disabled people seeking work in each of the last four years in Great Britain1,2 
			  Total seeking work Unemployed Inactive—Seeking work but currently unavailable 
			 2010 435,000 381,000 53,000 
			 2011 442,000 389,000 52,000 
			 2012 473,000 415,000 58,000 
			 20133 379,000 333,000 46,000 
			 1 Source: Labour Force Survey (four-quarterly averages for each calendar year). 2 Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3 Estimates for 2013 onwards should not be compared directly with earlier years, due to a change in definitions. Changes in 2013 to the wording of the disability questions within the survey questionnaire and a move to only reporting those who are disabled within the core definition of the Equality Act, have led to a step change in the levels of reported disability and their composition (e.g. numbers in employment). Therefore, estimates of disability from the Labour Force Survey for 2013 onwards should not be compared directly with earlier years.

Employment: Disability

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people classified as disabled left work as a result of their disability; and how many such people entered new work in each of the last four years.

Michael Penning: The information requested is not available. We do not hold information on the reason for an individual leaving employment, therefore we are unable to ascertain how many disabled people left employment as a result of their disability.

Employment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on (a) press, (b) marketing, (c) advertising and (d) other aspects of communications relating to the Youth Contract in each year since its introduction.

Esther McVey: As with any new programme it is right and responsible to ensure all who are, or could be, affected are properly informed. Since the Youth Contract was launched in April 2012 it has provided opportunities for over 250,000 people. The spend in each of the categories specified is as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Financial year  
			  2012-13 2013-14 Total 
			 Press 9,872 0 9,872 
			 Marketing 10,167 7,578 17,745 
			 Advertising 72,010 0 72,010 
			 Other communications 27,231 34,650 61,881 
			 Total 119,280 42,228 161,508 
		
	
	The marketing category relates to spend on local face-to-face activity bringing together jobseekers and employers with opportunities.
	In the ‘other communications’ category, we have supplied details of spend on leaflets, posters, exhibition stands and video production.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 318W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, how many housing benefit social sector tenants have been (a) given exempt status because they reached state pension credit age and (b) allowed to keep an extra bedroom because they are (i) registered foster carers who have fostered a child during the last 52 weeks and (ii) parents of armed forces' personnel who have been deployed on operations.

Esther McVey: In response to the hon. Member’s question please see the following:
	(a) The information relating to the numbers reaching state pension credit age who are no longer subject to the removal of the spare room subsidy is not available.
	We can say that there are estimated to be 700,000 housing benefit tenants who are state pension credit age and have one or more spare bedrooms.
	(b) (i) Information relating to registered foster carers is not available.
	(b) (ii) Information relating to parents of armed forces’ personnel is not available.

Independent Living Fund

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims to the independent living fund of what total value were made in each parliamentary constituency in the last year.

Michael Penning: There were no claims to the independent living fund in the last year as the fund was closed to new applications in 2010.

Independent Living Fund

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of recipients of the independent living fund (a) are in employment and (b) were in employment at the date of application.

Michael Penning: The information is not available in the format requested as the ILF does not record the employment status of its recipients.

Jobcentre Plus

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many formal client complaints were brought against Jobcentre Plus staff in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) West Lothian local authority area and (d) Livingston constituency in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available prior to July 2010, however data are available as follows:
	
		
			  July 2010 to March 2011 April 2011 to March 2012 April 2012 to March 2013 April 2013 to March 2014 
			 Scotland 815 1,070 983 773 
			 National (England, Scotland and Wales) 6,180 8,979 16,864 15,481 
		
	
	DWP completed the incremental roll-out of a new complaints process in December 2012 which encouraged the recording of complaints. The data provided span both processes.
	As complaints are not recorded by local authority area or constituency, this level of data are not available.

National Insurance

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the number of applicants who seek a national insurance number and claim welfare benefits within six months of receipt.

Esther McVey: The information requested is available up to December 2013 and can be found at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
	Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
	https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

Occupational Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the average UK saver of delaying the pensions charge cap from April 2014 to April 2015.

Steve Webb: There has been no delay to the default fund charge cap. The Government have announced that they will put in place a charge cap set at 0.75% of funds under management for the default funds of all schemes used for automatic enrolment from April 2015. This means we will deliver on the timetable in our consultation document to have a full cap for all qualifying schemes in place by April 2015.

Occupational Pensions: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of businesses in Brigg and Goole constituency that will be issued with staging dates for automatic enrolment between 1 April 2014 and 1 April 2015.

Steve Webb: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith) on 30 April 2014, Official Report, column 729W.

Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people made requests of the pension tracing service to find lost pension pots in each year since May 2010; and how many of these were successful.

Steve Webb: The table shows the total number of Pension Trace requests and those which were successful. Successful Pension Traces are where we are able to provide a customer with contact details of the pension administrator for the particular company or employer they had worked for.
	
		
			 As at 1 April to 31 March each year Total Successful 
			 2010-11 76,453 66,586 
			 2011-12 77,757 67,068 
			 2012-13 107,335 94,354 
			 2013-14 144,169 126,904 
			 Source: The data is from the Pension Tracing System

Social Security Benefits

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) disability living allowance have died during the process of (i) assessment and (ii) appeal in the latest period in which figures are available.

Michael Penning: Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (with which appeals are lodged) do not have figures relating the number of appellants that have died during the appeals process.
	The information requested is not readily available.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the average waiting times for (a) personal independence payments assessments and (b) work capability assessments conducted by Atos in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Michael Penning: Limited data have started to feed through to the Department from Atos Healthcare about the average waiting times for applicants for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to be seen for a face to face consultation although this is not provided for the specific geographical area of Kilmarnock and Loudoun. When the data are fully collated and meet the quality standards set by the UK Statistics Authority, the Department intends to publish official statistics later in the year.
	The most recent data about national average waiting times for work capability assessments (for both employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment), for the period from February 2013 to date are 76 working days.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants were sanctioned in each month since August 2013; and how many such claimants continued to sign on during the period for which they were sanctioned.

Esther McVey: We have interpreted the question to be for the number of jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) claimants who were sanctioned and this information is published and can be found at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
	Guidance for users is available at:
	https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm
	The information requested on how many JSA claimants continued to sign on during the period for which they were sanctioned is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on the public funds available to local authorities of the creation of a Single Fraud Investigation Service.

Esther McVey: The Local Authority Administration Grant for 2014-15 will not be reduced due to the implementation of the Single Fraud Investigation Service. The proposals for 2015-16 and 2016-17 onwards are currently out for consultation with our key stakeholders, including Local Government representative groups.

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were sanctioned at the (a) higher level, (b) intermediate level and (c) lower level in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland, (iii) North Lanarkshire and (iv) Airdrie and Shotts constituency in each year since October 2012 up to the most recent period for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: The information requested is shown in the table:
	
		
			 Number of people on jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) and employment and support allowance (ESA) with a sanction applied by level of sanction: October 2012 to September 2013 
			  Level of sanction 
			  Total Higher Intermediate Lower Unknown 
			 Great Britain 542,175 66,786 232,624 310,480 660 
			 Scotland 50,076 6,888 21,023 28,468 38 
			 North Lanarkshire local authority 3,588 330 1,269 2,386 - 
			 Airdrie and Shotts parliamentary constituency 971 82 341 655 971 - 
			 “-” Denotes nil or negligible. Notes: 1. Statistical disclosure control has been applied. 2. A benefit sanction is applied where a sanction or disallowance referral decision is found against the claimant. 3. New regulations introduced a new revised sanctions regime for JSA claimants from 22 October 2012 and ESA claimants from 3 December 2012. Details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jobseekers-allowance-overview-of-sanctions-rules 4. ESA sanctions are only applied at the lower level, and data is for December 2012 to September 2013 only. Source: DWP: Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics database 
		
	
	This information is published and can be found at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
	Guidance for users is available at:
	https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm
	Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:
	http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by the universal credit project on (a) staff travel and (b) overnight accommodation and allowances in each month of 2014 to date.

Esther McVey: Universal credit is being developed and delivered across the UK. As expected with a programme of this size, some travel is needed to ensure effective delivery of the programme. DWP has clear policies on travel and accommodation expenses to ensure costs are minimised.
	It is not possible, on the grounds of disproportionate cost, to separate out this expenditure between DWP staff and contractors working on the universal credit project.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he takes to monitor whether Work Programme prime providers fulfil their minimum service standards; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: The Department has developed a clearly defined compliance monitoring regime which commits to an appropriate level of checking for each of the 40 Work programme contract package areas.
	The compliance management team work closely with Work programme performance managers to ensure clear factual information is available for consideration as part of monthly Contract Performance Reviews with providers.

HEALTH

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he gives on ensuring that all women seeking an abortion are given accurate, complete, balanced and up-to-date information regarding the potential health risks of the procedure.

Jane Ellison: Clinical guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, ‘The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion (November 2011)’, recommends that services should make sure that:
	“written, objective, evidence-guided information is available for women considering abortion to take away before the procedure. Information should be in a variety of languages and formats.”
	In addition:
	“staff providing abortion services should provide up-to-date evidence-guided information, supported by local data where robust, about complications and sequelae of abortion.”
	The Department requires independent sector providers to provide women with impartial evidence-based information (verbal and written) which includes:
	“what to expect, during and after the abortion (to include potential side effects, complications and any clinical implications).”
	Also the Care Quality Commission’s Essential Standards of Quality and Safety require that:
	“the risks, benefits and alternative options are discussed and explained in a way that the person who uses the service is able to understand.”

Abortion: Breast Cancer

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the meta-analysis by Huang Y et al. published in the journal Cancer Causes Control in November 2013, investigating the link between termination of pregnancy and breast cancer.

Jane Ellison: The Royal College of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (RCOG) reviewed its evidence based guidance on abortion (The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion) in 2011 in which the issue of a link between abortion and breast cancer was given careful consideration.
	When the RCOG carries out the next review of its guidance, consideration will be given to all relevant research and evidence available that has come to light, to help inform the guidance and recommendations.

Accidents

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are employed full-time solely on accident prevention in (a) his Department and (b) Public Health England.

Jane Ellison: A number of departmental and Public Health England staff work on areas relevant to accident prevention, but they are employed within teams with wider public health and social care interests rather than being solely employed full-time on accident prevention.

Air Pollution: South East

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of deaths in (a) Portsmouth, (b) Hampshire and (c) the South East attributed to air pollution in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Ellison: Estimates of the fraction of mortality in English local authority areas and regions in 2010 and 2011 attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution arising from human activities are published by Public Health England (PHE) as one of the indicators in the Department of Health’s Public Health Outcomes Framework. For Portsmouth unitary authority this figure was 5.9% in both 2010 and 2011; for Hampshire county council this figure was 5.3% in 2010 and 5.4% in 2011; and for the South East this figure was 5.5% in both 2010 and 2011.
	PHE has also published mortality estimates for 2010 as attributable deaths1 and associated years of life lost. The estimated mortality burdens attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution arising from human activities were: 95 attributable deaths and 1059 associated years of life lost in Portsmouth unitary authority; 601 attributable deaths and 6211 associated years of life lost in Hampshire county council; and 4,034 attributable deaths and 41,729 associated years of life lost in the South East.
	1 The ‘number of deaths’ attributable to a risk factor is a metric which is widely used in communicating about public health risks. Nonetheless, a calculated figure of ‘attributable deaths’ does not represent the number of individuals whose length of life has been shortened by air pollution. Long-term exposure to air pollution is understood to be a contributory factor to deaths from respiratory and, particularly, cardiovascular disease, ie unlikely to be the sole cause of deaths of individuals. This means that it is likely that air pollution contributes a smaller amount to the deaths of a larger number of exposed individuals rather than being solely responsible for a number of deaths equivalent to the calculated figure of ‘attributable deaths’. The distribution of the mortality effect within the population is unknown.

Cancer: Drugs

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make representations to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence regarding its technology appraisal of ipilimumab.

Norman Lamb: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave her on 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 663W.

Children: Screening

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to extend Pulse Oximetry screening for children.

Daniel Poulter: The UK National Screening Committee has recommended that a pilot for pulse oximetry screening for children should be set up to explore the practicalities of implementation. Ministers have accepted this advice and a pilot will commence shortly.

Chiropody

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many whole-time equivalent podiatrists were employed in the NHS in each of the last 10 years.

Daniel Poulter: The annual national health service workforce census, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows the numbers of chiropodists/podiatrists working in the national health service in England as at 30 September each year. The number of full-time equivalent chiropodists/podiatrists employed by the NHS in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table. It is not possible to separate out the podiatrists from the chiropodists/podiatrists figure.
	The most recent annual workforce census, which includes data as at 30 September 2013 and was published on 25 March 2014, has been placed in the Library.
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified Chiropody/Podiatry staff in England as at 30 September each year 
			 Full-time equivalent 
			  2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 England 3,027 3,117 3,103 3,056 3,095 3,146 3,207 3,190 3,106 3,067 3,028 
			 Notes: 1. It is impossible to isolate the numbers of podiatry staff from the Chiropody/Podiatry staff workforce census data. 2. These statistics relate to the contracted positions within English NHS organisations and may include those where the person assigned to the position is temporarily absent, for example on maternity leave. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census

Chiropody

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department made of the prevalence of grade down-banding of podiatrists employed within the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: There has been no assessment made by the Secretary of State for Health, of the prevalence of grade down-banding of podiatrists employed within the national health service.
	NHS Employers are responsible for their workforce structure. Grade down-banding or changing the pay structure of the role to a lower grade is a measure undertaken by some NHS organisations due to re-organisation and restructure.

Chiropody

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on trends over the last five years in the number of employees at (a) bands 5 and 6 and (b) bands 7 and 8 employed as podiatrists in the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre annual national health service workforce census shows the number of chiropodists/podiatrists by Agenda for Change (AfC) pay band working in the national health service as at 30 September each year from 2010 to 2013. It is not possible to separate podiatrists from the chiropodists/podiatrists figures. An AfC breakdown is not available for 2009 census data but is available in the provisional monthly workforce statistics.
	The number of employees at AfC bands 5, 6, 7 and 8 employed as podiatrists in the NHS from 2009 to 2013 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified Chiropody/Podiatry staff in England by agenda for change pay band as at 30 September each year 
			 Full Time Equivalent 
			  20091 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 All Pay Bands 3,215 3,190 3,106 3,067 3,028 
			 Of which:      
			 Band 5 281 284 265 313 383 
			 Band 6 1,568 1,574 1,560 1,494 1,444 
			 Subtotal 1,849 1,858 1,825 1,808 1,827 
			       
			 Band 7 904 877 854 837 808 
			 Band 8a 225 232 228 218 203 
			 Band 8b 88 81 70 64 59 
			 Band 8c 37 32 26 21 20 
			 Band 8d 25 26 30 31 28 
			 Subtotal 1,278 1,248 1,207 1,171 1,119 
			 12009 figures will differ from the published Annual Workforce Census figure for qualified Chiropody/Podiatry staff (3,207) because this data is taken from the September 2009 Provisional Monthly Workforce Statistics. AfC band data for 2009 is not available from the Annual Workforce Census. Notes: 1. 2010-13 figures are from the September Workforce Census each year. 2. It is impossible to isolate the numbers of podiatry staff from the Chiropody/Podiatry staff workforce census data. Sources: 1. Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census 2. Health and Social Care Information Centre Provisional Monthly Workforce Statistics

Chiropody

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what correspondence he has received relating to reductions in the number of podiatrists employed in each of the regions of England in each of the last three years.

Daniel Poulter: A search of the Department’s ministerial correspondence database has identified four items of correspondence about reductions in the number of podiatrists employed in England; three were received in 2012 and one was received in 2014. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department’s ministerial correspondence unit only.
	Following the Westminster Hall debate on 4 December 2013 about podiatry services, secured by the hon. Member for Corby (Andy Sawford), the Chief Executive of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists wrote to the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Jane Ellison), who responded to the debate, expressing concern about the reduction of podiatrists staffing levels in some areas.
	In that debate the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health explained that:
	“in situations in which services need to be changed, the NHS commitment is to make sure decisions are made in a clear and transparent way, so that patients and the public can understand how services are planned and delivered. Through the mandate, NHS England is responsible for services and for working with local clinical commissioning groups to ensure that their services are based on the needs of the local population within the resources available and there has to be evidenced-based best practice”.

Chiropody

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to promote best practice in NHS podiatry services in (a) NHS England, (b) health and wellbeing boards and (c) clinical commissioning groups.

Daniel Poulter: The Mandate from the Government to NHS England holds NHS England to account for improving patient care. Within NHS England, the National Clinical Director for Rehabilitation and Recovery in the Community and the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer are leading on work to improve adult rehabilitation services including collection and dissemination of best practice, which will serve to enhance the care of those with foot diseases.
	NHS England is taking a number of actions to improve footcare services for people with diabetic foot disease. Some of these actions are in line with Diabetes UK’s foot campaign “Putting Feet First” while others go beyond the suggestions included in the campaign.
	The actions include the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set which contains an indicator on “Complications associated with diabetes including emergency admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis and lower limb amputation”; the launch of a National Diabetes Footcare Audit scheduled for July of this year; and an NHS Improving Quality pilot project to reduce the premature mortality associated with diabetic foot disease.

Chiropody

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the standard of podiatry services in the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: There has been no assessment made by the Secretary of State for Health, on the standard of podiatry services in the national health service. Podiatrists are professionally regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and are accountable for their practice via the fitness to practise process. Registered podiatrists are required to maintain ongoing continued professional development to ensure that their clinical skills are maintained. This is a mandatory requirement by the HCPC.
	Health organisations are expected to follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard on diabetes requires that people with diabetes that have foot ulcers, or are at risk of developing them, have regular check-ups from a team specialising in foot protection. It also requires that people are seen and treated by a specialist health care team within 24 hours if they have foot problems needing urgent medical attention.
	NICE guidelines recommend annual foot checks. This is included in the Quality and Outcomes Framework which incentivises general practitioners to perform and record a foot examination in people with diabetes.
	NHS England also plans to launch a National Diabetes Footcare Audit in July 2014, which aims to establish the extent to which national guidelines on the management of diabetic foot disease are being met. This will provide local teams with the evidence needed to tackle any identified differences in practice which will lead in turn to an overall improvement in management and outcomes for patients.
	Some elements of podiatry services are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, all providers of regulated activities, including NHS and independent providers, have to register with CQC and meet a set of requirements of safety and quality.

Chiropody

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the relationship between the availability of podiatry services and the rate of lower limb amputations.

Daniel Poulter: The Secretary of State for Health, has not personally received representations on the relationship between the availability of podiatry services and rate of lower limb amputations.
	I regularly meet with the Allied Health Professions Federation. At the last meeting held in February 2014, representatives from the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists attended and a wide range of issues were discussed, including prevention of lower limb amputations.
	We are not currently able to correlate the relationship between the availability of podiatry services and rate of lower limb amputation in those with diabetes. However, on 14 July 2014, NHS England will be launching the National Diabetes Footcare Audit (a new module to be incorporated into the National Diabetes Audit) which will allow this relationship to be explored.

Dental Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost of seeing a dentist was in England in each year for which data are available.

Daniel Poulter: Information is available by course of treatment. Information on the average cost of a national health service (NHS) course of treatment for an adult charge payer is set out in the following table. Treatment is free for all children and those adults who are exempt from NHS dental charges on income or other grounds.
	
		
			 Average cost of an adult course of treatment in England as at year ending 31 March each year: 
			  Total courses of treatment Patient charge revenue (£) Average cost (£) 
			 2009 18,333,000 571,728,263 31.19 
			 2010 18,601,732 597,620,482 32.13 
			 2011 18,965,166 614,270,550 32.39 
			 2012 19,125,127 634,741,351 33.19 
			 2013 19,333,277 657,636,481 34.02 
			 Note: The average cost of an adult course of treatment for the years ending 31 March each year has been calculated by dividing the total adult gross fees for April to March for each year by the total number of adult courses of treatment for the same time period. Source: The Health and Social Care Information Centre

Diabetes

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to tackle the increase of type 2 diabetes; and what work is being done to identify best practice and share knowledge throughout the UK.

Jane Ellison: The NHS Health Check programme is a risk assessment and management programme aimed at preventing a range of illnesses, including diabetes. Economic modelling has shown that potentially it can prevent more than 4,000 people a year from developing diabetes.
	Public Health England is supporting local authorities to deliver the NHS Health Check programme. Take up continues to improve with the number of checks being undertaken up by 13% compared to the same period last year.
	Strategic Clinical Networks (SCNs) focus on priority service areas to help improve the quality and equity of care and outcomes by bringing together those who use, provide and commission services in the area they serve. There are 12 Cardiovascular Disease Strategic Clinical Networks, 10 of which have dedicated diabetes clinical leads, and they support the prevention of Type 2 diabetes, and identify and share good practice within their areas. Diabetes UK is supporting meetings between the NHS England National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes, and the diabetes clinical leads and associate directors of the SCNs to help ensure that best practice is shared across all 12 regional networks.

Dietary Supplements: EU Law

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps officials of the UK Permanent Representation to the EU are taking to ensure that the Government's objectives are met for the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals under the provisions of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on the establishment of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements through EU Directive 2002/46/EC on food supplements;
	(3)  if he will discuss with the new European Commissioner for Health, at the earliest opportunity after his or her appointment, continued access by British consumers to safe, high potency vitamins and minerals; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: I raised the issue of the establishment of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements with Tonio Borg, the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, on 10 December 2013, emphasising the importance that any future proposals should be based on science and safety, to allow for the highest safe maximum levels. The nature of the United Kingdom (UK) market and potential impact on availability of thousands of products was underlined. This will be an important issue to raise with the new European Commissioner when appointed.
	Officials at the UK Permanent Representation to the European Union (EU) continue to monitor for any development of proposals from the European Commission for setting maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals under the provisions of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive. Should such a proposal be issued, officials at the UK Representation to the EU will advise and assist the Department in the delivery of the Government’s negotiating objectives.

Domestic Accidents

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of patients presenting at accident and emergency departments because of an accident in the home in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is not available centrally.

Health Services

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from what date the statutory duty of candour will be implemented; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: We announced, in ‘Hard Truths’ the Government’s response to the Mid Staffordshire public inquiry, that:
	“subject to Parliamentary approval from 2014 every organisation registered with the Care Quality Commission will be expected to meet a new duty of candour.”

Hospital Beds

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the percentage change in the number of NHS beds in England was in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: The information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Average daily number of beds in the national health service in England, 2009-10 to 2012-13 
			  Beds in wards open overnight Beds in wards open day only 
			  Total beds available Percentage change from previous year Total beds available Percentage change from previous year 
			 2009-10 158,461 — 11,221 — 
			 2010-111 142,466 -10.1 11,252 0.3 
			 2011-12 138,572 -2.7 11,296 0.4 
			 2012-13 136,758 -1.3 11,748 4.0 
			 1 The 10.1% reduction in beds between 2009-10 and 2010-11 may have been caused by the change in the basis of the collection from annual to quarterly. The quarterly data are collected in the month following the end of the quarter, which is timelier and requires less estimation than the previous annual collection. If the reduction was real, the occupancy rate would have been expected to increase dramatically. As it is, the occupancy rate has remained between 84– 88% for the time in which this has been a quarterly collection. Source: NHS England

In Vitro Fertilisation

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 42W, on In vitro fertilisation, (a) what the evidential basis is for his statement that no genomic DNA is found in the mitochondria but only in the cell nucleus, (b) what account he took of the data on the human genome available in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases in preparing that statement and (c) what genetic modifications applied to the eggs or embryos would prevent any nuclear DNA from the eggs or embryo donor being inherited by the resulting child.

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 42W, on in vitro fertilisation, if he will provide specific references to the available evidence that no genomic DNA is found in the mitochondria but only in the cell nucleus; how their consideration that mitochondrial DNA is not part of the genome relates to the presentation of data on the human genome in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases; what precise genetic modifications are applied to the eggs or embryos that would prevent any nuclear DNA from the egg or embryo donors from being inherited by the resulting child; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: We have been advised by the Wellcome Trust that whole mitochondrial DNA genome sequencing has revealed no evidence of nuclear genomic DNA inside mitochondria and data on the human genome available in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases confirms that there is no nuclear genomic DNA in the mitochondria.
	Inheritance of nuclear DNA from the donor egg is prevented in the Maternal Spindle Transfer technique through the removal of the spindle from the donor egg. Given that the nuclear DNA in the form of condensed chromosomes is attached to the spindle, nuclear genomic DNA from the donor will be removed and not inherited by the resulting child. Techniques that allow the visualisation of condensed chromosomes in eggs are used to ensure that all the chromosomes are removed.
	For embryos used in the Pronuclear Transfer technique, the nuclear genomic DNA is enclosed within the nuclear membrane of the maternal (egg-derived) and paternal (sperm-derived) pronuclei. The donor nuclear genomic DNA will be removed when the pronuclei are removed.
	There is no universally agreed definition of genetic modification in humans. The Government have adopted a working definition for the purpose of taking forward the draft mitochondrial donation regulations, that genetic modification involves the germ-line modification of nuclear DNA that can be passed on to future generations. Therefore, the Government do not accept that mitochondrial donation amounts to genetic modification.

Maternity Services

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidelines cover preoperative pregnancy checks in (a) the NHS and (b) private medical institutions;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of whether current guidelines covering preoperative pregnancy checks are sufficient to prevent risks to the unborn child.

Daniel Poulter: Government guidelines on preoperative pregnancy checks are set out in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance: ‘Preoperative Tests: The use of routine preoperative tests for elective surgery’:
	www.guidance.nice.org.uk/CG3/Guidance
	published in June 2003.
	This guidance states that:
	The need to test for pregnancy depends on the risk presented to the fetus by the anaesthetic and surgery. All women of childbearing age should be asked sensitively whether or not there is any chance that they may be pregnant.
	Women must be made aware of the risks of surgery to the fetus.
	A pregnancy test should be carried out with the woman’s consent if there is any doubt about whether she may be pregnant.
	Before having a chest x-ray, all women of childbearing age should be asked sensitively whether they may be pregnant.
	NHS Medical Director Sir Bruce Keogh has recently requested that NICE review its guidelines on preoperative tests in relation to potential pregnancy. This will include an assessment of whether the current guidelines covering preoperative pregnancy checks are sufficient in preventing risks to the unborn child.
	Guidance on pregnancy checks has also been produced by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health:
	www.rcpch.ac.uk/pregnancychecks
	and the Royal College of Surgeons:
	www.rcseng.ac.uk/publications/docs/preop_test.html
	These guidelines are equally applicable to the NHS and private medical institutions.

Mental Illness

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the level of mental illness in (a) the West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group area, (b) the Medway Clinical Commissioning Group area, (c) Kent and (d) England in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: Information on the levels of mental illness in the West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group area, the Medway Clinical Commissioning Group area, Kent and England is not held centrally.
	All local authorities are required to develop and publish a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)—an analysis of the current and future health and care needs of the local population—and a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS) to address these needs.
	JSNAs and JHWSs form the basis of national health service and local authorities’ own commissioning plans, across health, social care, public health and children’s services. Local health and social care commissioners are expected to develop their commissioning plans in line with any relevant JSNA or JHWS, and must be able to justify any parts of their plans which are not consistent.
	The JSNA process therefore offers valuable opportunities to drive improvement in meeting the needs of local people with mental health needs. However, the Department has not highlighted any care group or area of need over another as this would risk undermining the purpose of JSNAs being an objective, comprehensive and most importantly a locally-owned process.

NHS: Competition

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff are employed in (a) his Department, (b) NHS England and (c) Monitor to undertake work on or relating to competition issues; and what the cost of employing such staff was in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The following table lists the number of staff currently employed to work on competition issues in the Department, NHS England and Monitor.
	The level of spend on employing staff to work on competition issues in each of the last five years could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Organisation Number of staff employed Cost of employing such staff in 2013-14 (£) 
			 Department of Health 2 198,760-121,814 
			 NHS England 30 n/a 
			 Monitor2 30 1,588,554 
			 1 The figures shown are the combined cost of the pay bands for the two staff. 2Monitor’s competition functions were established by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. In the transition year 2012-13 Monitor hosted the Co-operation and Competition Panel at a cost of £1,068,099. 3 Full-time posts.

NHS: Complaints

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints have been received about the NHS in England and Wales in each of the last three years; and on what grounds such complaints have been made.

Daniel Poulter: There are 17 tables of data published annually in August of each year by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in England. This annual collection is a count of written complaints made by (or on behalf of) patients, received between 1 April and 31 March each year.
	These data sets cover Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) KO41a and General Practice (including Dental) Health Services KO41b.
	The total number of complaints received by the NHS in England in the years requested are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010-11 149,765 
			 2011-12 162,129 
			 2012-13 162,019 
		
	
	Documents for the years requested have been placed in the Library and show on what grounds a complaint was made.
	The Department does not hold data on complaints made to the Welsh NHS this information would need to be supplied by the Welsh NHS.

NHS: Legal Costs

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each NHS trust and foundation trust spent on legal costs on individual employment cases in each of the last 10 years.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not collect data about how much each national health service trust and foundation trust spends on legal costs on individual employment cases.

Nurses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing staff were in post in each year since 1999.

Daniel Poulter: The annual national health service workforce census, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows the numbers of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in the NHS in England as at 30 September each year. The Department does not hold information on the number of nursing staff in post in other settings.
	The number of qualified nursing staff in each year from 1999 to 2013 is shown in the following table. The latest data in the table relates to September 2013 and is taken from the annual census. The monthly workforce statistics provides more recent data but do not include primary care staff.
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services (HCHS): Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in England as at 30 September each year 
			 Full-time equivalent 
			  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 
			 Total qualified nursing staff 251,907 257,429 267,381 280,212 290,971 300,403 308,205 310,383 
			          
			 HCHS Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 241,218 246,717 256,218 268,214 278,003 286,841 294,412 295,767 
			          
			 GP Practice Nurses 10,689 10,711 11,163 11,998 12,967 13,563 13,793 14,616 
		
	
	
		
			 Full-time equivalent 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Total qualified nursing staff 308,516 313,879 320,469 323,783 321,143 319,755 322,635 
			         
			 HCHS Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 293,962 299,917 306,887 309,139 306,346 305,060 307,692 
			         
			 GP Practice Nurses 14,554 13,962 13,582 14,644 14,797 14,695 14,943 
			 Notes: 1. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. 2. These statistics relate to the contracted positions within English NHS organisations and may include those where the person assigned to the position is temporarily absent, for example on maternity leave. Sources: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census Health and Social Care Information Centre General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Nurses: Recruitment

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training posts for nurses were commissioned in England in each of the last five years. [Official Report, 14 October 2014, Vol. 586, c. 1-2MC.]

Daniel Poulter: The following table shows the number of new pre-registration nursing places that were filled in the last five years. The table includes the students enrolled on the degree and diploma courses.
	
		
			 Nursing total 
			  Number 
			 2009-10 20,829 
			 2010-11 20,092 
			 2011-12 17,741 
		
	
	
		
			 2012-13 17,219 
			 2013-14 18,009 
			 Source: Multi professional education and training budget monitoring returns.

Obesity: Children

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of children in (a) Chatham and Aylesford constituency, (b) Kent and (c) England were diagnosed as overweight in each year since 2005.

Jane Ellison: Data on childhood obesity are not collected at constituency level but at local authority level. Chatham falls within the unitary authority boundary of Medway and Aylesford falls within the district authority boundary of Tonbridge and Malling. The data have been presented for these local authority organisations as an approximate for the levels of childhood obesity in the Chatham and Aylesford constituency.
	The proportion of children classified as overweight in Chatham and Aylesford constituency (represented by Medway and Tonbridge and Malling respectively), Kent and England as measured by the National Child Measurement Programme 2006-07 to 2012/-13 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Prevalence (%) of overweight (including obese) among children aged 4 to 5 (reception) and 10 to 11 (year 6) years 
			 Percentage 
			  England Kent Tonbridge and Malling Medway 
			  Reception Year 6 Reception Year 6 Reception Year 6 Reception Year 6 
			 2006-07 22.9 31.7 22.7 30.9 19.6 27.8 20.5 34.6 
			 2007-08 22.6 32.6 22.6 30.3 20.9 29.3 17.9 35.9 
			 2008-09 22.8 32.6 23.0 32.5 20.5 32.7 25.3 34.1 
			 2009-10 23.1 33.4 23.8 32.8 21.9 28.1 23.9 34.3 
			 2010-11 22.6 33.4 22.9 33.3 29.1 32.6 24.2 33.3 
			 2011-12 22.6 33.9 21.7 32.7 19.0 33.1 23.8 34.0 
			 2012-13 22.2 33.3 21.7 32.7 20.9 31.3 23.3 32.7

Palliative Care

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the palliative care service ratings for England were in the most recent period for which information is available.

Norman Lamb: There is no national rating system for palliative care services in England. However, The National End of Life Care Intelligence network (NEoLCIN), part of Public Health England, works with partner organisations including NHS England to collect, analyse and present end-of-life care intelligence, drawing together data and information from a range of sources.
	The NEoLCIN has published end-of-life care profiles at local authority and by clinical commissioning group level. These help commissioners and providers understand the end-of-life care needs of their populations. More information can be found at the following link:
	www.endoflifecare-intelligence.org.uk/home

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the level of support available for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Norman Lamb: No recent central assessment has been made of the level of support available for people with post-traumatic stress disorder. Such assessments are conducted at a local level as part of any local area’s joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA). JSNAs are the means by which local leaders work together to understand and agree the needs of all local people, with the joint health and wellbeing strategy setting the priorities for collective action. Clinical commissioning groups are then responsible for commissioning services to meet the assessed needs of the local population they serve.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the case for abolishing prescription charges in England.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not intend to abolish prescription charges in England, which raise in the region of £450 million each year. This is valuable income, which helps the national health service to maintain services for patients.
	An extensive system of exemption arrangements are in place which mean that around 90% of all prescription items are already dispensed free of charge.
	Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPCs) are also available for those who have to pay NHS prescription charges and need multiple prescriptions. The cost of the annual and three-month certificates have been frozen for the fifth and third years running, at £104 and £29.10 respectively, and will also remain frozen next year. There is no limit to the number of items that can be obtained through a PPC. The annual certificate benefits anyone needing more than 12 items a year, and the three-month certificate anyone needing more than three items in that three-month period.

Procurement

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account his Department takes of previous performance on Government contracts when assessing bids for new contracts.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has implemented the Government’s best practice for assessing past performance in its contracts and takes past performance into account as part of a legal and commercial compliance test for any contracts which are greater than £20 million in value. This is in line with the Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note, Action Note 09/12, issued on 8 November 2012.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to section 3 of the guidance issued by Monitor on the Commissioning of Radiosurgery Services on 4 April 2014, 
	(1)  if he will require NHS England to publish the objective evidence on which it based its decision not to allow patients to be treated with the Gamma Knife at University College London Hospital;
	(2)  if he will require NHS England to publish the names of all referring consultants, patients groups, charities and any other service providers it consulted prior to making its decision not to allow patients to be treated with the Gamma Knife at University College London Hospital;
	(3)  if NHS England will publish the details of all contracts it has signed with providers of radiosurgery services in England.

Jane Ellison: Section 3 of Monitor’s substantive guidance on ‘The National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No.2) Regulations 2013’ provides guidance to commissioners on publishing new contract opportunities for NHS health care services.
	On page 42 of the guidance, it states that:
	"a commissioner may decide to carry out a detailed review of the provision of particular services (for example, A&E services) in its local area in order to understand how those services can be improved in the interests of patients. The review may involve extensive public consultation and engagement with existing and potential providers and other stakeholders. Reviewing available services and providers in this way is good commissioning practice and something that commissioners should consider doing as a matter of course.”
	NHS England is currently undertaking such a review of stereotactic radiosurgery services. This will inform procurement decisions for these services.
	University College London Hospitals is not contracted by NHS England, nor was it contracted by former primary care trusts, to provide Gamma Knife services. It is for this reason that NHS patients cannot normally be treated at this facility. Instead, NHS patients requiring Gamma Knife treatment should be treated by the Gamma Knife services commissioned by the NHS, that have been shown to meet NHS England service specifications. These can be accessed by patients in London without a waiting time, fully maintaining the continuity of their care and normally with the same consultant and clinical team.
	NHS England inherited the range of stereotactic surgery providers currently in place, of which University College Hospital London was not one. NHS England is currently undertaking a review of stereotactic radiosurgery provision and will consult widely with stakeholders and providers prior to making changes to service provision.
	Finally, NHS England will publish information relating to its contracted spend in due course, in line with Regulation 9 of ‘The National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No.2) Regulations 2013’.

Social Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a maximum charge for homecare and other non-residential social services.

Norman Lamb: Through the Care Bill we are making the biggest change to the care and support system in more than 65 years. The Bill reforms what people pay for care and support and how they pay to create a system that is a fair partnership between people needing care, their families and tax-payers.
	The reforms will place a cap on lifetime care costs. This means that people will no longer face the possibility of catastrophic care costs, providing peace of mind and enabling them to plan for their future. New regulations and guidance on how to financially assess people will ensure that, while they are contributing towards the cost of their care, they will only pay what they can afford.

Staff

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) NHS England are working on the transition to a new system following the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2012; and what the cost was of employing such officials in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison: The Health and Social Care Transition programme (HSCTP) was set up to implement the changes introduced under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The programme was led by the Department and closed on 31 March 2013. All of the organisations in the new health and care system assumed full responsibilities and powers as set out in the Act from 1 April 2013.
	Any enduring responsibilities that transferred to the Secretary of State for Health, or NHS England from 1 April 2013 are being discharged as part of business as usual arrangements in each organisation. As the HSCTP has closed and the new organisations are in place, there are no longer any officials working on the transition to a new system.
	Further information on the overall cost of transition is available in the National Audit Office report ‘Managing the transition to the reformed health system’ available at the following link:
	www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/10175-001-Managing-the-transition-to-the-reformed-health-system.pdf

Surgery

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on making the term surgeon a protected title.

Daniel Poulter: There is currently already provision in the Medical Act 1983 (s.49) which makes it an offence for a person to pretend to be or use the title “surgeon” which implies registration with the General Medical Council.
	However, as part of a longer title, the title “surgeon” has not been restricted and is widely used for other specialist employment roles e.g. tree surgeon, veterinary surgeon etc.
	The Law Commission has recommended in its report on the regulation of health care professionals and social care professionals in England, published April 2014, that the Government should consider undertaking a full review of existing protected titles and functions, and related offences. We will consider the Law Commission's proposals and produce a formal response in due course.

Tobacco: Retail Trade

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products on the work of Trading Standards' officers in combating the trade in illicit tobacco.

Jane Ellison: In the Department’s 2012 Consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products, consultation questions were asked about illicit tobacco. A consultation-stage impact assessment was also published with the consultation.
	Sir Cyril Chantler included a chapter on illicit tobacco in his report on standardised packaging of tobacco and concluded that:
	‘I am not convinced by the tobacco industry’s argument that standardised packaging would increase the illicit market, especially in counterfeit cigarettes.’
	The Government will be holding a final, short consultation in which Ministers will ask, in particular, for views on anything new since the last full public consultation that is relevant to the development of this policy, including in relation to illicit tobacco. A further consultation stage impact assessment will be published alongside this.

Transvaginal Mesh Implants

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to address patient concerns regarding the use of transvaginal mesh implants.

Norman Lamb: Work to improve outcomes for women undergoing procedures involving urethral tape and vaginal mesh is currently under way and is being led by NHS England. The Department is involved in this work alongside the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the specialist societies (The British Society of Urogynaecology (BSUG) and The British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
	In addition, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, Medical Director, NHS England has written to the national health service to highlight the need to ensure that:
	National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance for these procedures is followed;
	consent procedures are standardised so that they comply with up-to-date evidence and follow BSUG and BAUS guidance;
	all pelvic organ prolapse procedures and all incontinence operations, but particularly those involving mesh, are recorded on a recognised database e.g. the BSUG or BAUS surgical databases;
	all adverse events are reported to MHRA; and
	surgery for removal of tapes or prolapse mesh or repeat surgery for incontinence or prolapse is performed in units which can demonstrate relevant specialist care.